Dismantle in Repair
by valjanex
Summary: Rachel's dads decide to adopt a tortured runaway Quinn Fabray, who was kidnapped and used for sex. Haunted, she turns to her new adoptive sister Rachel for a shoulder to cry on. Faberry. *CHANGED MY PEN-NAME FROM GEEZ GEENA*
1. Chapter 1

**1**

Rachel sighed as the second hand ticked. She wished she had super powers, so she could freeze time and stop her dads from picking up this new demon girl who they were adopting.

They had told Rachel the horrid news three weeks ago. They explained that they loved Rachel very much but they wanted to have another around the house. Just thinking about that stupid life-changing conversation made Rachel want to scream. How come she wasn't good enough?

Here's what Rachel new about the girl. Her name was Quinn Fabray and she was a runaway. Apparently some man had kidnapped her for sex and she had been tortured her whole life. She was sixteen, like Rachel. She had blond hair and hazel eyes and perfect skin. She had the appearance of a goddess, but underneath that pretty smile was someone very, very tortured. Rachel's dads had repeated that she was tortured endlessly and they wanted her to be nice. Rachel shook her head as she sat up on her bed.

Her dads would be home any minute.

* * *

Quinn stared up in amazement at the house. House! Everywhere her and Will had ever lived was in cramped apartments that stunk of alcohol and pot. Never a house. It was huge! There had to be at least three floors, and she could see a pool in the backyard. This made her ridiculously overjoyed. She had always wanted to learn how to swim, but Will would never teach her. He was afraid that if she was taught she'd swim away or something. Same with driving. She could feel herself start to smile.

But then Will's voice barged into her memory.

_I'll get you. _

Quinn gasped and felt like she might puke. She dashed for the nearest trash can and started drive heaving. Her stomach felt so _empty. _Probably due to the fact that she hadn't eaten in God knows how long. Her stomach roared for food, even though her chest protested, still tight and heart still beating rapidly from hearing Will's voice. It had sounded like he was _right there. _It terrified Quinn to know that he could be near, since she didn't exactly report who had kidnapped her. She shuddered.

Quinn could feel someone watching her and Will's eyes popped into her head. Always watching, always near, making sure she did each job just right. She groaned and gripped the trash can tighter, making her knuckles turn white. After she was sure she wouldn't start drive heaving again – and convinced herself that Will wasn't the one watching her – she glanced up. She saw a short brunette with wavy brown hair watching her from a window in what must have been the second floor. She had a smirk across her face. Once she saw Quinn staring back at her, she shook her head and took a long sip of what appeared to be water and drew her curtains closed.

Water. Her throat ached.

"Quinn?" A voice came from behind her. She recognized it as one of the nice men who had saved her from that horrid house of runaways. "Are you ready to go inside, sweetheart?"

_Sweetheart. _She had never heard it used how it was made to be used: in a genuine way. Will had called her sweetheart when he had her in his bedroom, but that was in mocking ways. Never genuine.

Quinn nodded and wiped her mouth with her sleeve. "Yeah, sorry." She whispered, her sore throat making her voice barely audible.

The other man who from the shelter came out from behind the trunk and frowned at her. "You must be thirsty." Quinn nodded. "Well, not to worry now. We have some water in the house if you like it. Or are you a juice girl? You look like a juice girl. We have plenty of juice, too. Apple, grape, cranberry, strawberry-kiwi..." His voice trailed off as her opened the door and disappeared into the house.

Quinn stared after him, eyes wide. She had never heard someone talk so much in her life! Will didn't like a chatterbox, and Quinn has witnessed many girls die because they talked too much. She shuddered at the memory. The screams, the pleas, the blood. The _blood. _There was always so much of it...

A deep chuckle came from behind her. It was the other man, the one who had called her sweetheart. He smiled reassuringly at her, urging her to go on inside.

Quinn hesitantly made her way into the house.

"Ah, there you are." The man who talks a lot greeted her as she gawked at the largeness of the house. "Pretty nice, eh?" Before Quinn could even attempt to reply he was shoving some clear juice into her hand. "Watermelon Kewl-Aid." He told her proudly. "Rachel's favorite."

"Where is Rachel?" The sweetheart one asked.

Talks-a-lot yelled for the Rachel to please come down here. The girl who has been smirking at Quinn descended down the stairs. She wasn't smirking anymore, she just looked more determined.

"Yes, _Daddy_?" Rachel put emphasize on the word daddy, as if to let Quinn know that they were hers and no one else's. Quinn bit her lip and glanced around nervously.

"Rachel," Talks-a-lot said slowly, sliding her a glass of her own. "This is Quinn. Quinn, this is our daughter, Rachel. Rachel, why don't you show Quinn to her new room?"

Quinn could see in Rachel's eyes that this infuriated her, but Rachel just smiled and said: "Sure, _Daddy_."

Quinn had gotten good at reading people over the years. It was a skill she had to learn in order to survive under any roof of Will's. Rachel obviously did not want Quinn here. Quinn mentally sighed and hoped Rachel would begin to like her overtime.

Rachel lead Quinn into a room that had bright pink walls, full-length mirrors, and posters of Broadway musicals all over the walls. She recognized one of them - Annie. Only because Will would whistle a tune from it every morning when he woke up. She was sure that tune would haunt her in her sleep, especially if she was sleeping here, where a reminder of it was staring her in the face.

"My dads are still working on your room, so you'll be staying on that couch over there until it's done, which will be in about a week to two weeks, maybe more. They still need to paint the walls and everything, so..." She trailed off and shrugged. "I only have a few rules. No liquids come into the room except water, no food that can create a mess, and no shoes on the couch. Okay?"

Quinn quickly nodded. She'd much rather have that then any of Will's rules. She began to walk over and put her bag by the couch. "Oh!" Rachel shouted suddenly, making Quinn jump. "And don't touch any of the equipment over there by any means." She pointed to a video-camera and various other assortments. Quinn nodded again. She stared at the couch longingly, tired. Rachel seemed to read Quinn's mind. "I guess you can take a quick rest, I'll come get you when dinner's ready."

Quinn smiled at Rachel gratefully. Rachel didn't see it though, because she was already turned around and hollering something to her dads about dinner.

* * *

Dinner came knocking at the door an hour and a half later. Her dads had decided on pizza because pizza was safe, and mostly everyone liked pizza. Rachel shouldn't eat pizza because of dance and she needs to keep her petite form, but her dads managed to convince her that one pizza wouldn't kill her.

She took a piece up to her room, breaking her own rule about not bring any messy foods into the room. Rachel shook her head at herself. Quinn had only been here, what, two hours and Rachel was already breaking rules. She decided to tell her dads that in her argument of Bringing-Quinn-here-was-a-huge-mistake.

Muffled screams greeted her when she reached the hallway that led to her bedroom. She crinkled her eyebrows together and then decided that it must be Quinn having a nightmare. She opened her door and prooved herself right, seeing Quinn screaming into on on her green couch pillows. Rachel frowned and slowly walked towards her.

"Quinn?" She whispered, gently tapping her shoulder. Her screams paused her a second and then came back stronger. Rachel sighed and placed the pizza on her floor, being careful not to make it flip and stain her rug with tomato sauce. "Quinn," She repeated, bringing her lips toward her ear. "Quinn, wake up..." She pleaded nervously. She couldn't think of anything to do except talk. Touching her obviously intensified whatever nightmare she was having. "Quinn!" Rachel shouted in her ear.

Quinn gasped and nearly fell off the couch. Rachel glared at her but softened when she remembered she had just waken up from what most of been one of the worst nightmares ever. Quinn looked at her confused, and then blinked a few times. Recognition slowly reached her eyes.

"Rachel?" She whispered, rubbing her eyes and glancing around the room, her eyes stopping on the Annie poster.

Rachel nodded, clearing her throat and drawing Quinn's attention back to her. She reached for the pizza and smiled softly at Quinn, who's eyes lit up at the sight of food. "I brought pizza." She whispered, slowly lifting herself up on the couch to sit next to Quinn.

Quinn nodded but didn't reach for the pizza. Rachel eyed her curiously out of the corner of her eye. Her skin was pale and she looked like she was still coming out of it as Quinn slowly placed her head on Rachel's shoulder. Rachel opened her mouth to say something, but stopped and allowed the blonde to quietly sob into her shirt sleeve.

* * *

**A/N: **She's alive! Sorry I've been MIA lately, but you know. Summer. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. And PS: Does anyone know Rachel's dads names?


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee or any of it's characters.

**2**

Quinn woke up the next morning with a pounding headache. She groaned and rubbed her temples as she recalled what happened last night. Her eyes searched for Rachel but didn't find her; she only found her empty bed that looked the same as it did when she first arrived. She wondered if Rachel got any sleep last night and felt guilty knowing that if Rachel hadn't gotten any sleep it was her fault.

Rachel.

Just thinking about her sent butterflies into Quinn's stomach. She let herself smile as she recreated the feeling of Quinn's cheek against Rachel's shoulder, the only thing separating their skin a thin layer of cloth. How her ear was pressed against her so much she could hear the sounds of Rachel's body, like she was somehow now a part of her. How no matter how hard she tried to put off hate, she just had that loving aura that made Quinn just want to hug her close and not let her go. She imagined what it would feel like to hold her and…

Quinn gasped and shot up. She squeezed her eyes shut and willed the images that had entered her mind to go away. But they only came back stronger, so vivid she could've sworn it was really happening. That she was truly holding Rachel, that she was truly running her fingers through her thick, curly hair. She closed her eyes and let her overactive imagination run it's course.

Quinn would gently smooth her hands through Rachel's hair. Rachel's hair would be damp and her curls would be tangled. Quinn would smile at her teasingly as her left hand smoothed through them. They would be sitting across from each other on Rachel's bed, Rachel's pink comforter crumpled underneath them. Maybe a movie would be ticking away in the background, maybe something old and classic like The Wizard of Oz. Maybe by then Rachel and Quinn would be close, inseparable. So close it would seem odd to think of Quinn without Rachel, almost like real sisters. With her right hand, Quinn would gently cup Rachel's cheek. Rachel's eyes would flutter closed and her breathing would become low and heavy. She'd smile a little as Quinn's thumb rubbed circles into Rachel's cheek. Quinn would lay down on Rachel's bed, her head resting on one of her green pillows. Rachel would lay down next to her and arrange herself so she was curled up on Quinn's chest. Quinn would gaze down at her lovingly and place a single kiss on the top of her hair, and the two of them would lay like that together until the next morning.

Quinn opened her eyes and smiled at Rachel's bed.

Never had she ever thought of another person of the same sex in that way. Though Will hadn't given her much of a chance to explore and figure out who she really was and who she was really attracted to. She knew the things she did with Will never felt right, but of course they wouldn't. They were forced. She guessed she would just have to truly experiment with both gender before she could really decide. But she knew there was definitely something there with Rachel. What, she wasn't sure. But she did know how it made her feel.

She couldn't take it anymore. She had to see Rachel.

She found Rachel in the laundry room doing a load of laundry. She suddenly felt like she couldn't breathe. The air surrounding them had gotten electric and she wondered if Rachel could feel it too. She bit her lip and debated how to start the conversation. What could she possibly say? "Hi Rachel, I'm sorry for possibly ruining your shirt and for being the reason that you probably didn't get any sleep last night, but the air is all electric now and I was wondering can you feel it too?" Somehow she couldn't picture that conversation ending well. So instead she lurked in the shadows and watched Rachel from afar.

Quinn bit her lip to suppress a sigh as she watched Rachel work. She was just so graceful in everything she did. She felt her knees start to go weak and silently walked backward so she could lean against the wall. Quinn smiled as she watched her; so determined to master the smallest thing and do it better than anyone else. She smiled as she saw Rachel's forehead crinkle as she inspected what looked like a mustard stain that looked like it must belong to one of her dads. She could imagine the sweetheart one wearing it. (Quinn later learned his name was Leroy and the Talks-A-Lot one was named Hiram). She folded her arms across her chest and relaxed.

"Rachel, you almost done in there?" She heard what sounded like Hiram deathly near. She jumped and covered her hand over her mouth to prevent making any noise that might get Rachel to turn around and spot her.

"Yes, Daddy." Rachel replied, thankfully without turning around.

"Good, because I have a job interview in a few minutes and my good tie is in there - you know the black one with the green stripes? - and anyway -" His babbling stopped as he entered the room and spotted Quinn. "Oh, Quinn! You're up! Good. You slept through breakfast, sadly, but Leroy is cooking up a fabulous lunch. He's an amazing cook, famous for his cheeseburgers. You eat meat, don't you?" Quinn nodded and Rachel spun around so fast she almost seemed to blur - hitting her head on one of the wooden shelves that hung above the washer and dryer. Quinn pressed her lips together tightly to contain her giggles, earning a scowl from Rachel. "Great. Well, I'll leave you two girls alone then. You know, I have a good feeling about the two of you." He nodded at the two of them, "Yeah, definitely getting a vibe. You two will end up very, very close." Hiram nodded again, sure of himself as he held each girl's gaze and walked backwards out of the room.

Quinn stared after where he'd just been, silent.

Rachel huffed, and Quinn turned to see her rubbing her head. "He likes to think he can predict the future. Sometimes he's spot on and other times he's way off base."

Quinn nodded and cleared her throat, praying she didn't have any morning breath. "Is your head okay? You hit it pretty hard."

"Like you care!" Rachel snapped angrily and Quinn flinched at her tone. Rachel's eyes immediately softened. "I'm sorry. Just...everything with last night was...confusing. Can we just...pretend it never happened?" Rachel's eyes were soft and pleading.

So she _did_ feel something! That made Quinn ridiculously overjoyed.

"Sure. Whatever you like, Rachel." Quinn grinned and did a cheap imitation of Hiram. "I have a feeling not get on your bad side."

Rachel grinned back. "That's my daddy you're imitating!"

Quinn's smile faded. She worried imitating Hiram was a mistake. She stared at Rachel, biting her lip and waiting for her to say more.

"Well, if you're going to even take a shot at imitating my daddy, you've gotta do it right!" Rachel smiled and took Quinn's hand, leading her out of the shadows. Quinn tried her hardest to ignore the butterflies in her stomach from Rachel taking her hand to focus on what the brunette was saying but she just _couldn't_. Rachel had took her hand. She couldn't shake the feeling of it away. So she just smiled and nodded along with her.

* * *

That night, Quinn tossed and turned in her sleep. She couldn't get the days events out of her mind: her daydream about the two of them in Rachel's bed to Hiram saying he had a feeling they would become close to both of them giggling and doing cheap imitations of him once he'd left. She filled her mind with all good thoughts of Rachel, hoping that would keep all nightmares about Will away.

She closed her eyes, but she could still see Will's eyes and could almost feel him watching her. Quinn sighed and turned around, eying Rachel and keeping her gaze strictly on her. Seeing only her while her imagination tinkered off and she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry that last little bit was so short! I've got interesting plans on where to take this story that you will never see coming. ;) And thank you for all the responses this one got, it was kind of overwhelming but really made me happy. :)

Thanks to **grangergirl22, faberry143, xlaugh16, .1990, whatever12345, xxnadiaxx92, WinterAquair, Music and Reading Lover, starophie, Anakin ffx fan, HRZN, 1, minako336, Copbucand, FaberryAcheleFan16 **for reviewing.

And thanks to **RVPAM5, SeekingAnIdentity, ****FaberryAcheleFan16, langsohryu, Copbucand, rhi-rox, Serenity102, cellochick375, minako366, I Wear the Crown, broadwaychick07, chunckmunck09, yowzers, nikiinatasha, HRZN, Anakin ffx fan, Blaze Phoenix, guitarx, littlestdevil, sakushi12, mypetconcubine, starophie, bandie3565, NotEnoughFluffy, quidditchfan, Pricilla Grey, shan-nins, Raiken-Ryu, addexlover, Music and Reading Lover, WinterAquair, xxnadiaxx92, thatsjustgreat92, ZuZuLG, SquishyAnon, GingerGleek13, fja, KittenDoll, tmankowski, Mama Bear and Her Cubs, Karrie Kay, XxJoannexX, Angel's Fallen Knight, rose1224, ConservEr1e, SolarisDragonia, Davis B.P, .1990, grangergirl22, faberry143, Brittana Fan, hollyberry014, xlaugh16, dinosaurchickennugget, writting is love **for** Favorite Story **/ **Favorite Author **/ **Story Alert **/ **Author Alert**. :)

(Sorry if I missed some but it was A LOT).

Oh, and thanks to everyone who answered my question about her dads' names. Most of you said Hiram and Leroy so that's what I used.

Hope you enjoyed!


	3. Chapter 3

**3**

_Quinn giggled as she tossed another teen magazine of the floor. "Wow, if this is what normal teenagers were doing while others were being kidnapped, I sure didn't miss much."_

_Rachel closed her eyes and thought about how to respond. Quinn didn't bring up Will very often, and when she did it would always catch Rachel off guard, unsure of how to respond. She gave Quinn an uneasy smile. "Guess not."_

_Quinn picked at her finger nail polish and leaned back against her bed's headboard. She basked in the comfortable silence, closing her eyes and loving the sweet sounds of nothing. She opened one lazy eye and smiled softly at Rachel. "I love you so much."_

_Rachel was saying something back to Quinn, but she couldn't make out the words. She furrowed her eyebrows together and began to ask Rachel what she was saying, but then suddenly Rachel was gone._

_Quinn was surrounded in black._

_"Rachel?" Quinn's voice rang out. She spun around, desperately searching for her, but only finding an endless sea of black. _

_"Rachel!" Quinn whimpered. Her breath was coming in quick gasps. She felt so alone, so isolated. Quinn could feel sobs in the back of her throat, but she swallowed them and ran in an aimless direction. She blinked and suddenly she was in a too familiar place, with the last person she ever wanted to see._

_

* * *

_

_Quinn tried to wiggle herself out of the ropes. It was pointless; Will didn't fool around, especially when it came to things that happened in his bedroom. Still, she always tried, for hope that one day the ropes might actually give. It was a stupid thing to hope for, and it was never going to happen. Her destiny was all set for her at this point and there was no way she could change it. She would die before she turned eighteen, and the last face she would ever see would be Will's. When she first learned this, that eventually Will was going to murder her, Quinn was more scared of Will than ever. But now she saw it as a comfort, a goal. Only two more years and she would be free of Will, and what he thought was right and wrong._

_"It's important to play all your cards just right Quinny," Will breathed in her ear, his fingers slowly undoing her button-up shirt. "Or else you won't get into Heaven when the time comes. Do you want that? Do you want to be damned an eternity in hell?"_

_Quinn blinked and tears slid down her cheeks furiously. She whimpered in pain at Will's new movements. "No!" She sobbed into the tape across her mouth. Though she wasn't quite sure what she was saying no to; an eternity in hell or Will himself. She decided it was both. Not that it mattered if you said no to Will. He would just keep on doing it anyway._

_"Good," Will groaned as he lowered himself into the defenseless blond, casing her to scream into the tape. "You no what that means, right? You better by now. Your Daddy built you up to be a smart little girl." When he didn't feel or hear any type of response from Quinn, he continued. "That means no vulgar language, no revealing clothing, never taking the Lord's name in vain, and absolutely never date someone of the same sex. Don't even think about it. You hear?"_

_Quinn snapped her neck in a quick little bob. She didn't really hear any of his words, but she nodded anyway. Anything to get her out of here faster..._

_

* * *

_

_Quinn was watching the scene from a few feet back. Herself from just a few weeks ago, and Will and all his horridness. She shielded her eyes, refusing to see anymore. She had already lived through the scene countless times enough, no way did she want to watch it happen again, to relive all those feelings._

_"Please, just make it stop!" She blubbered. She felt her knees give out as she fell to the ground, sobs rising from the back of her throat. "Please! I'll do anything! Please!" There was no responce, except for a sharp and loud scream from the other Quinn. Her stomach squeezed. "Rachel? Rachel, help me!"_

_Suddenly the scene faded out. Will was gone for now, and so was the other her. She expected to be taken back to Rachel's bedroom, but she wasn't. Rachel and no other human life were in sight. Just her and the blackness. She sniffled and laid her head down, letting the blackness swallow her._

_She had never felt to alone in her life._

_

* * *

_

"Rachel!" Quinn screamed again, tone desperate. She sobbed and screamed again in her sleep, a deep, heartbreaking sound. Her whole body was shaking and she was layered in a cold sweat. Her honey blond hair was stuck to her forehead, very tangled and messy. The blonde's hands were reaching out into the air, searching for something that she kept failing to find, making her screams go and octave higher.

Rachel was frantic. She had seen people suffer from some pretty nasty nightmares, but never was it to this extent. She had no idea what to do. Rachel had tried screaming at the top of her lungs that she was _right here _and to wake up so she could see for herself, but it sounded like a mere whisper against Quinn. Nothing she was trying was working, and Rachel was scared. She longed for her dads like never before. But since her Dad was at a job interview and her Daddy was at his work in a doctor's office, she was totally alone.

As another scream came from Quinn, Rachel blindly reached for her phone to call her daddy. She felt guilty for disturbing him at work, but she figured this was one of those time where there wasn't much else she could do. She quickly pounded in his cell number, cursing in a low voice as she messed up a few numbers and had to backspace, which only made her mess up again. Yet another scream from Quinn. Frustrated, the brunette spun around towards the blond.

"Look Quinn, I'm moving as fast as I possibly can, okay?" Her breathing came in a low hiss and a few seconds later she felt guilty for snapping at her. Quinn couldn't help it right now. "I'm going to make it better. I promise Quinn, just hang in there for a second." She whispered, biting her lip hard as tears of her own sprang from her eyes.

She was so scared.

Rachel remembered her cell phone that was clenched tight in her hand and quickly dialed the last two numbers and hitting the big green SEND button. She impatiently bounced from one foot to the other. _Please pick up Daddy, please pick up..._

Not soon enough Rachel heard him pick up. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Hello?" His deep, friendly voice answered the phone and she felt safer. Her Daddy would surely help her.

Rachel sniffled loudly, wiped at her eyes and covered her other ears so she would be able to hear well. "Daddy, there's an emergency."

Her daddy sighed, and she could just seem him giving whoever he was working with an apologetic smile and holding up the national sign for just-a-second-please. "Rachel, honey, I'm in the middle of work so please try and make this quick."

"Daddy, its Quinn." Rachel sobbed. "S-She's having a re-really b-b-bad nightmare and I c-c-can't wake her up and I'm so scared and I need help and - " Rachel jumped as Quinn screamed again, loud. "_Please come Daddy. _I need you."

There was silence for a moment and then his voice rung out. "Don't move. I'll be there in a second."

* * *

By the time Leroy ran into the house, Rachel was kneeling in front of Quinn, one hand squeezing her pale hand while the other was gently smoothing down her hair. She wished it could be just as easy as last time, where she just woke up when Rachel yelled loud enough, but she knew that wasn't going to happen. She was so relieved when she heard Leroy's entrance she wanted to laugh, but the brunette still didn't budge from Quinn's side. No way was Rachel just going to up and leave her now.

Quinn most of sensed the new presence even in her sleep, because her screams redefined high and loud. "Quinn, sweetie, please! It's just Daddy, why don't you _open your eyes and see for yourself_?" Rachel didn't have time to worry over where the 'sweetie' part of her plead came from before Leroy was gently shoving Rachel aside, telling her to please leave them alone for a second.

Rachel was hesitant to leave Quinn alone, but then she remembered that this was her daddy. There was no need for her to worry over it, he knew what he was doing. But still, as she shuffled out of her bedroom, she cast a look over her shoulder at Quinn again. She felt...Rachel didn't really know how she felt, really, being as she had never felt anything like it at all before.

The second she was completely out of her room, the door slammed close. She contemplated staying up there and waiting until the exact moment she knew Quinn was awake, but her stomach greatly protested. She needed something quick or she felt like she might upchuck, which was not something that needed to happen this morning on top of everything else.

Rachel silently walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. Her eyes glanced up at the clock. It was 10:45am on a Saturday. She wondered dimly what other people from her school were doing right now. Probably still sleeping, waking up in some loser's bed, or hanging out with friends, she decided dimly. She got down her favorite glass from the cabinet and got some cold water from the 'fridge, drinking it slowly. Would it be okay to come up yet? She took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves. She drank the rest of her water with her eyes locked on the clock above the stove, although she wasn't paying the time itself much attention anymore. All she could think about was Quinn.

Quinn, Quinn, Quinn.

She had only been here at least twenty-four hours and it already felt like a lifetime.

Restless, Rachel lazily placed her empty glass in the sink and slowly made her way back up the stairs. She listened intently for any screams or noises in general, but heard nothing. She reached her bedroom door and gently knocked on the door, waiting a few seconds before pulling the door open.

Quinn was awake now, and her eyes were extremely wide. She was searching around the room for something, and Rachel could tell that she wasn't finding it. She silently made her way over to stand beside the couch where Quinn was laying to the left, her back turned away from Rachel.

"Quinn," Rachel whispered. It sounded like both a statement and a question all in one.

Quinn slowly twisted around and gasped when she saw Rachel. She started murmuring a million things a second, none of which Rachel could make out. The blond forcefully launched herself onto the brunette, giving her a bone-crushing hug. "Oh my gosh, Rachel. Please don't ever leave me okay? _Please._"

Rachel was speechless and could feel her daddy's eyes on the two of them, but still she nodded and hugged Quinn back lightly. "I promise." She whispered, smoothing Quinn's hair back.

Her daddy's eyes were like lazars, burning holes into Rachel's back. She knew once things got more settled down there would be a lot of discussing to do.

"Quinn," Leroy's voice called out after some silence. "Why don't you go wash yourself up while I bake us all some breakfast, sound alright?"

Quinn sniffled and nodded, slowly breaking away from the hug. "Yes, sir, that would be great."

"Don't be afraid to call me Leroy. Or Dad. Whichever you prefer is fine. But just no sir. It makes me feel too old." Leroy remarked.

Quinn smiled meekly as she retrieved some clothes from her bag. "Baby steps." She whispered.

"Right." Leroy blew out a puff of air, and he suddenly looked very tired and worn. "Well, I'm going to go whip out the pancake batter. See you both downstairs." He gave Quinn a kind smile and Rachel a pointed look that said a million things in one. "Hurry up though, Hiriam will be back soon and then I think we all should sit down and have a little chat."

* * *

**A/N: **I like this one a lot better than the last one. A few of you were saying that I should make the chapters longer, so hopefully this satisfies. :)  
Oh, and no shoutout on this one, sorry! I'm beat. But there will be in the next one, don't worry.

-Geena.


	4. Chapter 4

**4**

By the time Rachel got downstairs her daddy already had the pancakes going. Rachel knew full-well what this conversation was going to be about, and she honestly could say she was dreading it. But better now than later, she supposed. She bit her lip and played with her thumbs, waiting for Leroy to make the first move.

Five minutes later a plate of steaming hot pancakes were sat in front of her, along with a glass of milk. It looked delicious, but Rachel couldn't bring herself to eat. One, it would be bad manners and two, she just wasn't that hungry after the whole episode with Quinn. But she still thanked him nonetheless and gave him a small smile.

"So, Rachel." Leroy began, staring directly into Rachel's eyes. "I do believe we need to have a chat."

Rachel felt her heartbeat pick up. Was she in trouble? She sincerely hoped not. It was a very rare occasion that she was in trouble with her dads. She couldn't even recall the last time one of her dads had shown any sort of anger towards her. Was she five? Three?

"I guess we do," Rachel agreed, taking a sip of her milk. "But where could we possibly start?"

Leroy pressed his lips together and thought. "Quinn seems to have taken a liking towards you." Leroy said finally.

Rachel sighed. "It's all so confusing! I mean, I was, like, a total jerk to her even though that's completely out of character for me and I'm still sort of appalled that I let myself get so jealous, but I guess it's kind of expected for one-" She realized she was babbling and stopped. "Anyway. I don't get why she likes me so much."

"There's a trusting and caring vibe about you. Anyone can pick up on it." Leroy replied with a smile. His smile slowly faded as he continued. "But you have to be careful Rachel. She's not your normal Lima-teenage girl. She's been through more in her short sixteen years than anyone should ever have to go through."

The brunette nodded her head. Yeah, yeah, she had heard it a million times already. Quinn was troubled, she had a dark past - Rachel_ knew _all this and it was not what she wanted to hear. She wanted answers that neither of her fathers would be able to give her, that she was too afraid to find out herself. "I get that, daddy. But what am I supposed to do about it?"

"Look, Rachel," Leroy's tone was dead serious as he responded, "I know this is a lot for you to take in, and it's all happening so quickly. But for whatever reason, Quinn trusts you. You just have to be there for her, through the good days and the bad days."

A small smile tugged at the edge of her lips as she replied teasingly, "You make it sound like we're getting married."

Leroy chuckled and got up to refill his glass. Rachel fell silent and watched her daddy - though she would never admit it if someone were to ask her about it, she found just watching one of her dads to be comforting in stressful situations. It reminded her that no matter what it was they would always be right there for her.

"I'm scared," A voice admitted that Rachel barely recognized as her own. "It's all so much to comprehend..."

Leroy frowned at his daughter, walking over to place a hand sympathetically on the smaller girl's shoulder. "It'll be okay, kiddo. I promise."

Rachel leaned into his touch. "I sure hope so."

Her daddy sighed and retracted away from her, crinkling his eyes at the time. "Phew, time sure does pass slowly sometimes, don't it Rach?"

"Did it?" Rachel replied, twisting around to inspect the time herself. "Wow. It seems like it's been hours. Even weirder, Quinn's barely been here a complete forty-eight hours and already so much has happened."

Leroy chuckled. "You know Rachel, sometimes it wouldn't kill you to talk like a normal teenager."

"But when have I ever been normal, daddy?" Rachel grinned at him but her smile slowly disintegrated. It was true. She was never normal, and never would be. She was way more mature than half of her teachers, and had more talent than small town Lima could contain. It humored her to think that in a mere four years or so Rachel would be incredibly famous and suddenly you would see interviews of her teachers saying how 'great' Rachel was and how much they 'adored' her, but in actuality they all hated her guts. And most of the time, Rachel was quite fine with that.

_Where would Quinn be in four years? _her mind wondered before she had the chance to censor her thoughts from happening.

_She'll be with me, _something deep inside her answered.

The shorter girl blinked and shook her head wildly, dismissing her thoughts. The blonde was certainly messing with her head and mindset. After breakfast she reasoned that she needed to give herself some Rachel-time to unwind and just relax, something that normally consisted of dancing, exercising, and watching Funny Girl so many times in a row that her eyes burned.

The silence that had settled between the pair suddenly seemed deafening. "Perhaps I should go check on Quinn. She seems to be taking a while." Not even waiting for a response from Leroy, the brunette flew out of her seat and up the stairs to the room she was currently sharing with Quinn.

"Quinn!" Rachel yelled, banging her fist against the door, "I hope you're decent because I'm coming in whether you like it or not!"

She yanked open the door and turned her head to the side a little in case when she entered Quinn was, well, _not _decent. Instead, she found the blonde sitting up against one of her bedroom walls, staring intensely at her Annie poster. She didn't seem to even hear Rachel enter the room.

"Quinn?" Rachel whispered, crouching down awkwardly beside the girl. "Are you alright?"

Quinn slowly tore her gaze away from the mocking poster and toward the brunette who was crouching down next to her in what had to be the most uncomfortable position ever. "Your dad, Leroy, is he mad at me?"

Rachel furrowed her eyebrows. "Why in the world would he be _mad _at you?"

"Because of all the commotion I caused...I mean, he said he wanted to talk, so I just figured that..." Quinn shrugged helplessly and bit her lip.

Rachel smiled at her warmly and placed a hand over the blonde's hand and then quickly retracted when she felt the blonde stiffen. "Of course he's not mad," Rachel replied finally, "He's just...worried and concerned. But not angry. He just wants to help you adjust and start to..." Rachel fumbled for the right words to say next.

"Get over everything with Will?" The taller girl suggested.

"No, not _get over_, just to sort of...move on so you cant start being happy."

Quinn nodded in understanding and squeezed hey eyes closed to keep tears from falling. "I want to be happy _so bad_, Rachel. But I honestly don't think it's possible for me."

"Of course it's possible, Quinn," Rachel replied honestly. "Anything's possible if you believe."

Quinn chuckled. "Thank you, Ms. Polar Express."

"Wait, _you've_ seen Polar Express?" The brunette questioned before her mind could even process how insensitive that sounded.

"_Duh!_" The blonde exclaimed and then suddenly both girls burst into giggles at Quinn's tone.

"Sorry," Rachel replied when she had caught her breath again. "I wasn't thinking, I just assumed that...well, I just assumed. And you know how great assuming is."

Quinn nodded in agreement and soon a comfortable silence had settled in the air.

"Girls?" A voice yelled up the stairs, slicing through the silence. "Are you two alive up there? Come on, time to come eat breakfast! I made my famous pancakes! Hiriam should be pulling up any moment."

Rachel groaned and leaned in close to the blonde seated next to her. "That's really all he knows how to cook, FYI." After a moment she added, "Do you know how to cook, Quinn?"

"Oh, yeah," Quinn nodded, standing up and smoothing down her favorite white sweater that had unfortunately been crinkled at the bottom of her bag. "I'm such a good cook that even the smoke detectors and fire alarms hoot and holler." Quinn blushed and twirled a piece of her blond hair around her finger, hoping that didn't sound as lame as it might have.

Thankfully, the shorter girl laughed and got up. "You'll have to show us your amazing kitchen expertise sometime."

"Ah, I would strongly advise against that if you like your kitchen not on fire."

"Well..." The brunette hesitated teasingly.

Quinn grinned and opened the bedroom door. "We're off to eat the pancakes..." Quinn sang to the tune of _We're Off To See The Wizard _from The Wizard of Oz.

"...The wonderful pancakes of daddy's!" Rachel sing-sponded as she danced out the door. The pair stood in silence before Rachel added, "You have a pretty nice voice, Quinn. You should join Glee when you start attending McKinley."

"What's Glee?" The blonde asked, genuinely confused.

Rachel gasped. "Only the best club in the entire universe!"

"Sounds endearing," Quinn replied with a smile as she started to step down the stairs.

Rachel beamed at Quinn's back and was nearly jumping up and down at the thought of Quinn joining Glee. She would be a great addition to the group, which was honestly lacking of some great voices. She was sure that Santana, Brittany, Tina, and Mike had somewhat decent voices since they made it in the club in the first place - or maybe not since Mr. Schue was so desperate for people to join he probably wasn't even listening if they had good voices or not - but they never opened up their mouths enough to let their voices actually be heard. And there was only so much repeating of her, Finn, Kurt, Artie, and Mercedes solos that he could give before it all just sounded..._boring, _used. Quinn would be fresh. She was probably a good dancer judging by her form - not that Rachel noticed or cared if she had good form or anything.

What was she doing? What had happened to her plan to rid herself of Quinn? Befriending her was not part of the plan. Caring about her well being and nearly driving herself nuts was not part of the plan. Quinn was supposed to be long gone by now, bugging some other family. Not here, practically making her dads go in circles because of her mental state. And what was she doing, recommending that she join _glee_? That was her club. Rachel's club, Rachel's thing. Quinn had already taken over her house, if she stayed no way would she let her take over glee, too. She didn't even have that strong of a voice.

"Rach, are you coming?"

Rachel snapped out of her thoughts and saw the blonde had stopped in the middle of the stairs and was staring right at Rachel. That sweet, innocent look on her face. How could Rachel even think such cruel things? Quinn was a sweet girl and likely incredibly talented. Rachel didn't want her gone. She actually wanted her to stay. Oddly enough, she wanted Quinn to stay with her, and only her. She felt a pang in her chest at the thought of Quinn going to school and ditching Rachel once Quinn heard all the nasty rumors the Cheerios spread about her. But Quinn wouldn't do that, would she?

"Yeah," Rachel replied finally. "Sorry, Quinn, I guess I just...spaced for a sec."

Quinn grinned at her, her right eye crinkling slightly in the corner. "I noticed. Come on, let's get this chat over with and then you can tell me more about Glee Club."

* * *

When the duo arrived in the kitchen, Hiriam was already at the table, worried plastered all over his face. Rachel felt Quinn stiffen next to her and without thinking Rachel reached out and gave the blonde's hand a reassuring squeeze. She expected Quinn to flinch away, but instead Quinn squeezed her hand back, and Rachel felt warmth fill her body. After a few seconds without either one letting do, Rachel hesitantly retracted her hand and awkwardly cleared her throat.

Hiriam immediately glanced up at the noise and smiled. "Oh, Quinny, honey." He got up and engulfed the girl in his arms, practically strangling her.

_Strangling her. _Rachel got a flash of a younger Quinn with what she always imagined Will looked like. She felt a strange surge of protection shoot through her veins. Even though she knew it was her dad and he would never _ever_ purposely hurt someone, she still wanted to go and tear Quinn from him and scold him for no end. Gosh, if she was this bad now, imagine how bad it would be when Quinn started attending McKinely. Where guys will start checking her out, thinking she's hot, and pervs like Noah Puckerman and Jacob Ben Israel will look at her like a piece of meat. The very idea made her want to vomit. No, she liked it here where Quinn was nice and safe. But Rachel knew she couldn't contain Quinn here forever.

When Rachel tuned back into reality, she saw that her dad and Quinn had separated and were now giving each other awkward, sympathetic smiles. "Well, come on kiddies. Let's get to talking."

"We're not 'kiddies', daddy." Rachel pouted, crossing her arms. Quinn shot her an amused smirk, which Rachel returned with a glare.

"Well, when you pout like that Rachie, you have us seriously begging to differ." Hiriam grinned at his shorter daughter, who glared at him so hard in return it made him wish he had his camera so he could take a picture of it.

"Anyway." Leroy said suddenly, clearing his throat and gesturing towards the table. "Let's talk."

The worried look that crossed Quinn's face was enough to make Rachel stop acting like a three-year-old. She walked over and placed one hand on the blonde's shoulder, absent-mindedly swishing some hair off her neck so she could trace a few circles. She leaned in close to her ear and whispered, low enough for only Quinn to hear. "Stop worrying. They're not mad, I swear to you."

Quinn nodded a little, but not enough to where her dads would notice, just so Rachel would. She felt some of her tension dissolving at Rachel's circle-rubs. "I believe you, Rachel."

Rachel smiled and moved away from the blonde and took a seat at the table. Everyone else took their seats and looked around at each other, waiting for someone to start the discussion.

"So, Quinn..." Hiriam hesitated, looked to Leroy, who nodded at him, and then looked back at their new resident, "We don't expect you to tell us everything. We understand that there are memories that you don't want to relive, and that you just got here. But we need to figure something out so we can try to avoid things like this happening, for your sake. So can you tell us what happened, why you were screaming?"

Quinn looked down at her lap and sighed, "It was just a really bad dream. A nightmare, more accurately. It was of..." Her voice trailed off, unwilling to finish the sentence.

"Will," Leroy supplied. "It was of Will, correct?"

Hearing his name spoken so casually was like she had been punched in the gut, or worse. It reminded her that this all wasn't just a bad dream, and that Will was real. This all had really happened to her. Quinn. The cautious, smart girl, who always thought twice but never thought to carry around something like a rape whistle. She never thought something like this could happen to her. She was aware that it happened before, obviously, but who ever imagines it might happen to them? She certainly didn't. Quinn couldn't even remember the last time she saw her parents, and their faces were becoming blurs in her memory. Oh, God, _her parents. _Grief rippled through her. Where were they now? Did they think about her often? Did they think she was dead? Quinn realized everyone was staring at her and her face flushed. "Yes," she whispered, "It was about him. Something he had done not too long ago. And I was...I was watching it happen to me again, from the sidelines. I couldn't do anything to stop it. And then suddenly everything was gone. It was just plain black. And I felt so alone, so isolated. I guess that's when I started screaming."

Hiriam nodded, accepting this. Leroy had a look of deep concentration on his face. "But wait a minute. How does our Rachel tie into this? You were screaming for Rachel specifically. And then when you saw her after you woke up, you had this - this_ look _on your face."

"Oh, that, um - I, uh, I remember their being some sort of, like, flash of the future, if you will, of me and Rachel in the beginning of the dream and then suddenly she was gone and I was with Will again." Sensing Leroy's next question, she added in a rush, "But I don't remember very clearly what the flash with Rachel was."

It was a lie. She remembered very vividly what happened in that dream. She hated the fact that she was lying to them, but she couldn't tell them what she had dreamed about their daughter. She couldn't risk losing the only people she had. Besides, these feelings were going to blow over soon enough. Rachel had nurtured her the first nights here, and so weren't the feelings natural? She decided they were.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **Last chapter, I accidently put 'Mr. Schue' when talking about the club teacher out of force of habit. It is NOT Mr. Schue but actually Mr. Ryerson. Thanks (:

* * *

**5**

Rachel groaned as her alarm clock went off. She was normally quite the morning person, but this morning she was dreading. School was starting again. The only good thing to look forward to again was Glee Club starting again, for that was something she had missed over the week break they had off from school.

The brunette groggily made her way down the stairs to see Quinn already up reading the school handbook for what had to had been the fiftieth time. Quinn glanced up and noticed Rachel, giving her a warm smile which Rachel returned. Although Will had obviously wrecked a lot of things with Quinn, one thing he actually did do was keep her well educated. Because of this, she was in mostly all advanced classes with Rachel. Knowing this put Rachel's nerves a little at ease knowing that she would be with Quinn most of the day.

"So, are you going to join Glee?" Rachel asked hopefully. The two girls had stayed up late the previous nights discussing all the school's extra-curricular activities, Rachel putting strong emphazie on how amazing Glee was and how fun she would have and the bonding time that they would have together.

"Maybe." Quinn replied honestly, slamming the handbook closed and rubbing her eyes. Rachel's expression must have said it all because Quinn nervously continued with, "I've always loved dancing and when I was little before - um, before I was - before Will - before _everything_, I used to be a huge gymnastics guru. My room used to be lined with trophies." Quinn beamed at the memory of her old room - the pink walls, the trophies, her dusty old stereo, her cd collection, the teddy bear her grandma made her before she passed away. She bit down hard on her lip to keep from crying. Again. "It's been so long..."

Rachel softened a little and felt her heart break for the girl. Then she remembered what they were talking about - Quinn was considering joining _the cheerios _- and quickly retorted. "Yeah, we dance in Glee, too!"

"I know, but..." Quinn sighed and shrugged helplessly, "I think I might enjoy the Cheerios a little better. And I can do both Cheerios and Glee, can't I?"

Rachel blinked. She couldn't believe this was happening. Quinn couldn't join the Cheerios! She couldn't bear the thought of Quinn turning into a huge bully who tormented everyone - specifically Rachel. Quinn was the only real friend she had had in, well, _ever_ and she didn't want to lose her. She didn't want to be alone again. "Well, I suppose, but - Ms. Sylvester is _really _strict. She works her Cheerios practically to death for perfection!"

Quinn chuckled humorlessly. "Rachel, are you forgetting what my life has been like for the past few years? I survived a kidnapper without being murdered, I think I can handle this Ms. Sylvester you speak of."

Rachel deflated, knowing this battle was lost and that Quinn was going to join the Cheerios. She walked over to the fridge and got something to drink, not looking at Quinn.

"Why are you so against me joining the Cheerios, anyway?"

"I'm not." Rachel whispered. "I want you to be happy, and if joining the Cheerios is what's going to make you happy, then I say go for it."

Quinn smiled and wrapped her arms around her adopted sister. "You're amazing, Rach. Don't forget it."

* * *

The rest of the morning passed in a blur. It seemed like the same thing happened in every class. Teacher introduces Quinn, jerk makes some sly comment, Quinn retorts with a sarcastic reply that leaves them speechless before Rachel can even tell them to buzz off.

By lunch time, everyone seemed to know who Quinn was. Quinn absolutely loved it; Rachel loathed it. She liked it better when she had Quinn all to herself. But at least the day was officially half over.

"Quinn!" Rachel called out, spotting the blonde heading the opposite direction away from the cafeteria. "Where are you going? The cafeteria's this way."

Quinn giggled. "I know, silly. But I talked to Coach Sylvester last period and she told me to come to the north gym during lunch to audition for the team. I'm so nervous! I haven't done a lot of moves for a few years, what if I make an idiot of myself?"

"I'm sure you'll be great, Quinn." Rachel reasurred her half-heartedly.

"I sure hope so..." Quinn smiled and gave the shorter girl a hug. "It'll probably take at least fifteen minutes or so, so I'll see you during the second half of lunch and tell you how it went, okay?"

Rachel nodded and Quinn gave her a small wave before strutting off to the gym.

* * *

Sue Sylvester stared at the paper she had in front of her, inspecting. Quinn Berry, huh? She grimaced. _Quinn Berry _just did not have a nice ring to it whatsoever. But, nonetheless of her unfortunate last name, she was hear to judge Quinn on her skills, not here name. When the faculty caught wind of Quinn auditioning, they begged and pleaded with Sue to be gentle with her and take in the fact that the girl had suffered through some traumatizing experiences recently, and don't be too hard on her. Whatever. She knew this girl had to have been hating how different all the other teachers were treating her and Sue was going to treat her just like she would treat any other person who auditioned.

Sue heard the doors to the gym groan and glanced up. This girl who was walking into the gym was nothing like the girl she remembered seeing just a while ago. Before she seemed scared, frightened, and weak. Now she seemed strong, confident, and fearless. She had the stride of a leader, something Sue quickly took note of.

"Alright Gwendolyn, let's get this thing cracking. We can't waste too much time - I've got the new episode of _Cheerzilla _TVo-ing at home and I'm an eager beaver to watch it."

"It's Quinn," The blonde told her, her stare cool. "And this won't take too long, Coach, I promise you."

Sue blinked. Her tone was so_ confident_, something so unexpected considering all the mediocre things she had heard about this girl's past. For once, Sue Sylvester was stunned. "A-alright, Quinn. Show me what you got."

Quinn flashed her a quick smile before spinning around, closing her eyes and remembering once upon a time one of her old dance routines. She could almost hear the song playing. The familiar, timeless beat. Suddenly she was back in her old bedroom all those years ago, where she had first created the routine.

She didn't think. One thing she remembered about her dancing was that if she thought too much, she was bound to mess up. And she couldn't afford to mess up. This was Quinn's chance to make people see her as she wanted people to see them. Not as poor Quinn, the victim - but courageous Quinn, the survivor. Quinn couldn't help as her adopted sister's betrayed expression emerged in her mind. _Don't think, _she yelled at herself, _just dance. _

When she was finished, there was silence. The only audible sound was of Quinn's heavy, uneven breathing. The taller girl's eyes flickered to those of Sue and she swore she saw a cheer trickle down one of her cheeks. Quinn bit her lower lip as anxiety swelled in her chest. She didn't think she could bear a rejection.

"That was...pretty darn good, kid." Coach Sylvester breathed, offering her a small smile. "Welcome to the Cheerios."

* * *

"Rachel! Rachel! _Rachel Barbra Berry_!"

Startled, the shorter girl frantically spun around, eyes searching for Karofsky and his ever-present slushie. But instead she saw Quinn nearly dancing towards her, a huge grin plastered on her face. She knocked into more than a few people and pointedly ignored their crude remarks.

"Rachel!" She panted when she finally reached the still baffled diva. "You'll - never - guess - what!"

"You made the Cheerios?" Rachel guessed, not bothering to hide the disappointment in her tone.

"Yes!" Quinn exclaimed, excited wrapping her arms around Rachel without much of a second thought about the people who happened to be in the hallway with them. "You, um, don't sound too happy for me..."

"I am!" Rachel all but yelled, getting looks from people passing by. She lowered her voice, "I just...I -"

"_EW_!" A new voice suddenly interrupted their conversation. Both girls turned to see who had made the exclamation. Quinn felt herself smile as she recognized Santana Lopez, who was - she remembered - the current captain of the Cheerios. She had been one of the few people who actually treated Quinn _normally _today. The disgust was evident on the girl's face. "Quinn, why are you talking to that - that -"

"Tranny." One of the other Cheerios supplied with a sneer. The remark caused a chorus of giggles from everyone around.

Rachel's eyes burned with unshed tears but she managed a believeable smile and kept her head up and she turned again to the stricken blonde, replying quickly with, "Well, good to meet you Quinn and hope you have a good time at McKinely!"

The shorter girl scurried away but not without hearing a "Like she really wants a welcome from _you._" From Santana and a "Bye, dyke!" From the other nameless Cheerio.

Rachel couldn't get away fast enough.

* * *

That night, Quinn found Rachel in their connected bathroom, furiously brushing at her teeth.

"Rach, if you brush any harder, they might fall out." Quinn joked with a smile as she stepped forward to start washing her face.

No response.

"Rach?"

No response.

"Is this about earlier?"

Silence.

"Okay, so you're obviously not going to reply to me so I'm just going to, uh, talk at you, okay?" Quinn nodded, pretending she heard an 'okay' from the other girl. "Alright. I'm sorry about what happened earlier, at school. I don't know what's up with Santana. She was perfectly kind to me before, right after Coach Sylvester let me in...Anyway. Rach, was what that one girl said...is it true? That you're, uh..."

"Why do you care?" Rachel suddenly erupted

"I just...I-" Quinn fumbled, staring at her in disbelief.

"Frankly, it's none of your business, Quinn." Rachel replied curtly. She rinsed out her mouth swiftly, her hands clenching the sink.

"I thought we were friends." Quinn whispered, feeling tears well in her eyes.

"You can't be friends with someone you barely just met, Quinn," Rachel spat, glaring at her. "We aren't friends. There is obviously no we. All that we happen to be is living under the same house. There's a big difference." The brunette then shoved her way past the wide-eyed blonde and retreated back to her room, slamming her door.

Quinn felt like she had been slapped.


	6. Chapter 6

**6**

The next week was tense and awkward in the Berry house. Hiriam and Leroy guessed that the girls had gotten into some sort of disagreement, and pointedly chose to stay out of it. They had figured that this would happen, considering how fast everything had been happening and considering they were two hormonal teenage girls. Instead of looking at the situation as something negative that need to be fixed right away, the two tried to look at as something...positive. They had already gotten in their first fight, maybe that meant they would be closer? They had come to this agreement last night in the privacy in their own bedroom, and between the two of them it seemed like perfect logic. But out loud it seemed...if-y.

The only thing that _really _concerned them was Quinn's more distant behavior. They knew that the blonde had gotten a good amount of close with Rachel over the past few weeks, and they feared that this argument might have really changed something in Quinn. If you didn't really know Quinn that well, you wouldn't be able to spot the negative changes in the girl. In fact, there had been a lot of good changes with her since joining the Cheerios. In the physical realm, though she was in good form before, she was in noticeable better form now - and in another realm, she seemed to walk around with a little bit more self-assurance. But, if you looked closely in her eyes, there was a look of living dead in her eyes that was present when they had very first met Quinn at the foster care, a look that had seemed to disappear when she started becoming close with Rachel.

They didn't know what could do for Quinn. Should they send her to a counselor? Would that make everything worse? Or was all this something that Quinn had to move on from on her own? Hiriam and Leroy felt helpless. They only hoped that the two would make-up quickly.

* * *

Quinn made her way quickly down the stairs, just barely avoiding tripping - earning a chuckle from her new adopted parents. She recovered and gave them a cool smile, smoothing her blonde hair back and walking over to the table where there was, of course, pancakes waiting. Rachel constently complained about how they always had pancakes, but Quinn found it nice to be able to depend on something when her life was taking so many twists lately.

"Hello Hiriam, Leroy." Quinn gave the duo a polite smile as she took her seat.

"In a rush there, Quinn?" Hiriam gave her a joking grin.

The blonde blushed as she took a bite of her pancakes. "Well, sort of. I have Cheerios practice this morning, and I was hoping to catch Rachel before I headed out."

Leroy frowned at her, his eyes full of sympathy. "Sorry, sweetheart. Rach's long gone. She likes to run in the mornings, you see."

Quinn nodded, this not being new news to her. "Yeah, I know. She used to wake me up every single morning with her dang bike thing."

The two laughed and grinned at her. Hiriam reached over the table for the syrup and there was a few beats of silence as everyone ate their breakfast. Hiriam knew this would probably be the best time to meddle in and try to find out what had happened between them. "Must be nice to wake up to piece in quiet in you're own room, huh?"

Quinn sighed and shrugged. "That's a plus. I do miss Rach, though. I just wish she wasn't so _stubborn._" The blonde complained as she took a sip of her milk.

"Sorry, sweets." Leroy gave her a sympathetic smile as he got up to rinse his plate off. "Stuborn-ness runs in the Berry family tree. Rachel seems to be the most stubborn out of all of us - well, next to her grandmother." The two men shared a shudder that made Quinn smile.

"Yes, she most certainly is pretty stubborn. But," Hiriam leaned in close to Quinn, as if to tell her a secret. "She is also very forgiving."

This comment filled Quinn with hope.

"Say," Leroy headed back over to the table. "What are you two arguing about?"

Quinn sighed again, hearing Santana Lopez's comment all too well. "It's a, um, long story and I don't have enough time to tell it. Thanks for the chat, see you later!"

* * *

It happened in third period. It had started out innocently, but one comment and it all went down hill.

Quinn had been trying to see the problem that was on the board, again cursing her teacher for placing her in the back where she couldn't concentrate. She wasn't sure what exactly had happened for the person in front of her to say this comment, all she heard was the comment itself, and that was enough to push Quinn over the edge.

"Ah, stop it, you freaking rapist! Teacher, teacher, he's raping me! Ahhh!" The girl in front of Quinn giggled.

Normally, Quinn would try to just ignore comments like this. But she just couldn't take it anymore. "Excuse me?" Quinn whispered to the girl in front of her.

The girl was clearly surprised that Quinn responded. "Um, was I talking to you?"

"Do you even understand what you just said?" The blonde hissed as she leaned over the desk.

"Jesus, take a joke, freak. I wasn't even talking to you -"

"Just shut up." Quinn interupted the girl's babble. "Just _shut your ignorant mouth up. _You can't even begin to comprehend what it is you just said. How dare you think things like that are funny! _Ignorant. _There are innocent people who get their innocence stolen from them because of really bad people. Let me tell you something, hunnie. This all might seem absolutely hilarious to you right now, and you're probably going to go to all your friends and tell them what a _freakshow _that new Quinn Berry girl is, but guess what? _It's not funny when you actually have to endure things like that_."

By this point, everyone was staring at Quinn - Rachel included. Her eyes were filled with sympathy. Quinn was sure her's were filled with angry tears.

"Quinn," The teacher said in a calm tone. "Do you need to go see Mrs. Pillsbury?"

Quinn let out a hysterical laugh. "No, I do not need to see Mrs. Pillsbury!" She spat, getting up out of her desk. "What I need is to just-just...forget."

The teacher sighed. "Now, Quinn, I understand you've had quite the difficult past but I can't just let you get away with things like this pointless attitude you're pulling."

"Pointless attitude?" The blonde shrieked and then let out a humorless chuckle. "Forget it." Quinn mumbled, heading towards the door.

"Quinn, if you walk out that door you will have so much detention it will make you're blonde head spin!"

But Quinn was already running fast down the hall, her tears blurring her vision. She barely heard the person following behind her. All she could see were horrifying images that she had pushed into the very darkest corners of her mind with the distraction of Rachel filling up her subconscious. But ever since the fight, they had been taunting her. And now the images were replaying full force.

_Wil's evil smirk, the way Will used to click his tongue, the way his eyes would light up when the blonde did something that accidentally turned him on, his menacing chuckle as she lied in a defenseless lump on the bed, his belt. Oh, God, his belt. _

"Make it stop, please!" The girl sobbed, falling against a row of lockers.

"Quinn! Shhh! Look at me, Quinn!"

"Rachel?" Quinn whispered, looking into her chocolate eyes. "Ugh, I'm such a mess! I-I'm a freak!"

"No, no Quinn. You're not a freak." Rachel whispered, wiping some tears off the blonde's cheek.

Quinn shook her head, "I'm not weak, Rachel," She whispered. "_I'm not weak_."

Rachel gave the girl a sad smile. "I know. You're the strongest person I know, Quinn. Now, come on. Let's take a drive."

"But-what about the rest of school?" The taller girl eyed her in confusion.

"Do you really want to go back, Quinn?" Rachel questioned. Quinn quickly shook her head and Rachel couldn't help but smile. "I didn't think so. Hurry. I have a friend who needs comforting."

"Who's that?" Quinn asked, getting up and wiping her eyes.

Rachel smiled and pulled the taller girl into a hug. "You."

* * *

The first half of the car ride was mostly silent. But there had been a question Quinn had been dying to ask ever since they had left the school grounds. "Hey Rachel?" Quinn whispered, leaning her head against the seat.

"Yes? The brunette replied, sparing her a quick glance in the blonde's direction before focusing back to the road in front of her.

"Okay. So, uh, don't get offended by this question, okay? I just...need to know." Quinn saw Rachel tense up out of the corner of her eye. "Last week you got all mad at me for calling you my friend, and then today after my melodrama, you called me your friend and hugged me. Don't think I'm not glad you now consider me your friend, because I am. But I just need to know. What gives?"

Rachel sighed and pulled the car to a stop in front of a deserted children's park Quinn remembered vaguely. "It's...complicated. Okay. This is going to sound incredibly cheesy so please forgive me, you should know I don't normally talk like this but for this current situation -" Rachel was cut off by a look from the taller girl. "Right, babbling. Anyway. At first I really wanted to hate you, when my dads first brought you in. Kind of like a fear of the unknown sort of thing. And then, later that night I heard you crying and my heart just...broke. I realized I couldn't hate you. And then, when you cried into my shoulder and hugged onto me like I was your lifeline...I just...Well, I was really confused. I didn't know what to think of you. I didn't want to consider you my friend since I barely knew you, but...I'm connected to you, Quinn, whether I like it or not. And maybe this is a little too fast. I'm always scared of that. I get too attached to people and they leave. I didn't want that to happen with you. I barely knew you, yet I couldn't imagine losing you. And everything today...I just can't fight it anymore, Quinn. So I'm deciding to now just go with the flow. It's going to be hard, for the both of us, but I'm willing to give it my best shot."

"I am, too," Quinn whispered, feeling tears of joy fill her eyes. "I missed you so much."

Rachel smiled and, without even thinking about it, took the blonde's hand in hers. "I did too."

Rachel seemed oblivious to the contact, but Quinn sensed it imediantly. Her body quickly reacted against her will, a shirll of hot goosebumps covering her from head to toe. She bit her lip. She didn't exactly want Rachel to let go, but after Rachel's speech, she thought it would be best. Quinn slowly retracted her hand.

"Oh my gosh, Quinn! I'm so sorry - I wasn't even thinking! I -" Rachel's tone was frantic as she came to the realization.

"Rachel," Quinn grinned, placing her hand back in Rachel's. "It's okay. Going with the flow, remember?"

"Right." The shorter girl sighed. "Just go with the flow."

* * *

**A/N: **Hey guys! I just had to add that bit about the sexual assault 'jokes.' Honestly, they bother the living crap out of me. And I just had to have Quinn react to it. I hope you enjoyed!


	7. Chapter 7

**7**

Shortly after the two girls's heart-to-heart in Rachel's car, the duo started to make their way back to the Berry residence. Rachel seemed calm, completely unbothered by the fact that they had cut school. Quinn, however, was in a panic. If Rachel hadn't been a little worried, she would've thought it was cute.

"Quinn," Rachel's tone was calm. "Calm down. Everything is going to be okay."

"But Rachel," The blonde sobbed, "We cut school! They...They're going to be so-o-o angry! Rachel, what if..." Quinn realized what she had been about to say and immediately put a stop to her thoughts.

Remorse crushed Rachel's heart as she, too, followed Quinn's thoughts. "They're not going to hurt you, Quinn, if that's what you're worried about. They would never, _ever _purposely hurt someone who didn't deserve it. And you, my dear, certainly do not deserve to be hurt in any way, shape, or form. If anything, you really deserve a bone crushing hug. And then a 'you rock!' for telling that girl off. That's something I would've never had the guts to do, no matter how much they might bother me."

Quinn allowed herself to smile briefly at Rachel's compliment before turning serious again. "So they...those comments...they bother you, too?"

"Of course they bother me, Quinn. The more so since I met you." Rachel replied as she turned a corner.

Quinn nodded, feeling relief. "It's good to know I'm not the only one. I thought it might just be me because of everything I've been through that it would bother me. Considering talk like that is unfortunately normal now-a-days."

"There's so many things inexcusably wrong with this generation, Quinn. It really makes me sad, and I wish I could change it. Change all the things that are wrong with teens this generation. Jokes about sexual assault, jokes about gay people, jokes about disabled people. It just..." The blonde noticed how worked up the tiny brunette seemed to be getting about this subject. "It's nice sometimes to just escape and watch a good musical." Rachel gave Quinn a bright smile and Quinn was relieved to see Rachel back to herself.

Quinn took advantage of Rachel's good mood. "What's your favorite musical, Rach?"

Rachel beamed at the mention of musicals and Quinn's genuine interest in wanting to know. Rachel couldn't remembered the last time someone asked her a question like that and actually wanted to know the answer, aside from her dads. "Funny Girl." She answered automatically.

Quinn smiled at Rachel's enthusiasm. The two shared a brief glance with each other before, suddenly, they were home.

"Rachel..." Quinn whimpered uneasily, all the happiness fading from the tall girl.

"Trust me, Quinn." Rachel said as she stepped out of her car. She noticed Quinn still sitting stiff inside in the passenger side and made her way over to the blonde's car door. She took her set of keys and unlocked the door. "Do you trust me, Quinn Berry?" Rachel held out her hand to the trembling blonde.

"Yes." Quinn replied. She noticed Rachel's extended hand and stared at it, unsure.

"Then take my hand and lets face whatever awaits for us inside. Together." The words seemed so romantic Quinn was sure Rachel had gotten them straight out of some sort of Nicholas Sparks inspired musical. Quinn bit her lip and took the brunette's hand. "Okay. Now, let's go. No one's going to hurt you, Quinn. You're not with Will anymore."

Hearing his name spoken aloud, as always, struck Quinn. She wondered if one day it ever wouldn't make Quinn not react that way. "I know that," Quinn whispered. Then, more forcefully. "I know that, Rachel. At least, my heart knows that. I just need to get my brain to understand that, too."

"It'll come in time, Quinn," Rachel told the girl as they reached the door.

Quinn blew out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. "Here goes nothing." She whispered as she withdrew her hand from Rachel's.

Rachel frowned at the blonde as she opened the door.

They were greeted immediately with a harsh glare from Hiriam and a sympathetic glance from Leroy.

"Where in all that's above's name have the two of you been?" Hiriam thundered.

Quinn opened her mouth to say something in response but Rachel threw her a look that could be translated in to four words: _let me handle this. _

"Now, Daddy," Rachel began nervously, "I know this looks bad but we really have a plausible excuse for our behavior."

"And that is?" Hiriam prompted, his voice raising.

"Hiriam," Leroy whispered, putting a hand on his husband's shoulder. Hiriam visibly cooled down some.

Rachel opened her mouth to start explaining before Quinn cut her off. "It was my fault, Hiriam. Some girl was making comments about sexual assault and I just...lost it."

Hiriam's eyes instantly filled with sympathy for the girl. "Why didn't you just go to Mrs. Pillsbury's office and have her call us? One of us would've gladly picked you up. You didn't have to ditch the rest of school."

"We know that, daddy." Rachel added her way back into the conversation. "But I followed her out, she was a real wreck, and I figured she could need some time with me, just the two of us. You know, the two of us. Just to get her calmed down."

"Well," Leroy said from his spot behind his husband, "I'm just glad to see that you're both okay and that it seems that the two of you have made up."

"Yes, we have made up." Rachel announced, linking her elbow with Quinn's. "The dynamic duo are back and better than ever!"

Quinn could feel her foster parents' intense stares on the two of them. She wasn't sure how her face looked, but she was sure she had an idea. Rachel just had this effect on her, making her feel feelings she had never in her life thought she herself would actually feel. It scared her that all of this was happening so fast.

_It's like they say, _Will's voice was suddenly in Quinn's mind, _the quicker they rise, the quicker they fall. _

Quinn closed her eyes and mentally murdered Will Schuester. She hoped that somehow, somewhere, Will was feeling the effect of Quinn's thoughts. She had a flash of blue-uniformed police officers, sharing the news that they had not been able to capture Will and that they were looking as hard as they could for her offender.

But knowing that he was still out there terrified Quinn. He could be anywhere near Quinn at this very moment.

_"You're my favorite girl." _Will had told her on day. _"I'll never leave you. You're Daddy's little girl." _

Rachel's worried voice brought Quinn back to the present. "Quinn? Are you alright?"

"Y-yes, of course I am. Just had a bad train of thought, that's all." Quinn lied. It sounded terribly unconvincing. She gritted her teeth. She used to be such a good liar with Will, where were those skills now? Or was it just the fact that she couldn't lie to Rachel?

"Do you want to talk about it, sweetheart?" Leroy's voice dripped with concern.

Quinn shook her head faster than she meant too. "No. I think I just need to lay down. Been a long day, you know?"

"Of course." Hiriam agreed. "And sorry I snapped at you, hunnie. I was just worried, that's all."

"I know." Quinn smiled at him. "And I'm grateful that I have people to worry about me now."

Without another word, Quinn headed off to the bedrooms. Rachel went to go follow her but was stopped by a hand grabbing her elbow.

"Rachel," She looked up to see Leroy. "Be careful with her. She obviously cares a lot about you. Did you see what she went through after your little spat? I would hate to see her if something worse were to happen."

Rachel sighed, having heard this many times before. "Look, dad, I'm not going to promise you Quinn and I won't have our fights, because we will. But I swear to make an effort to not hurt her in any way."

The two men beamed at their daughter. "Okay."

Later that night, Rachel made her way to her adopted sister's bedroom. They had let Quinn sleep quite a long time, and they figured they might as well wake her up for dinner. Only when she got to Quinn's bed, she found it empty. Rachel furrowed her eyebrows. Is she in the bathroom? She wondered. She stepped out only to find the bathroom empty, too. It was then that she realized her bedroom door was closed, even though she had left it open.

The sight warmed her heart. Quinn was curled up on Rachel's bed, fast asleep, with a musical playing softly in the background.

Rachel smiled and silently made her way over to the sleeping girl. She realized that this was the first time since the girl had moved in that she hadn't had a nightmare and smiled. "Quinn?" Rachel whispered. "Quinn, wake up. Time for dinner."

"Huh?" The blonde rubbed her eyes and blinked, confused. "How did I end up in here?"

Rachel giggled, sitting down next to Quinn and smoothing her hair away from her face. "Why don't you tell me the answer to that question?"

The blonde concentrated and then slowly the realization came to her eyes. Quinn blushed a deep red as she launched into her explanation. "I-I came in here to get that movie you were talking about, Funny Girl. I wanted to watch it because I saw how happy you got when you talked about it in the car. I guess I must have, somehow, put it in and fallen asleep on your bed in the process."

"Quinn," Rachel grinned. "You do realize this isn't Funny Girl, right?"

"What do you mean?" Quinn asked, confused, her eyes flicking to the TV.

Rachel shook her head. "The movie you put in is Phantom of the Opera."

"Wow." Quinn laughed. "I must have been pretty beat if I couldn't even read a stupid DVD cover title right."

Rachel smiled and extended her hand to the blonde, which Quinn took without a second thought. Rachel helped Quinn out of bed and gleefully lead her out to the kitchen. "Hey Quinn?"

"Yes?" Quinn said, turning to look at the shorter girl.

Rachel gave the girl a huge hug. "It's really sweet that you wanted to watch Funny Girl just because you saw how happy it made me. The sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me."

Quinn beamed at Rachel's compliment. "You're welcome, Rachel."

"And..." Rachel leaned in and whispered in the girl's ear. "You rock for telling that girl off in class."

Quinn giggled. "I remember somebody telling me I deserved that."

"Hmm," The brunnette replied in a fake-innocent tone of voice as she pucked her lips, playfully bringing her finger to tap her chin. "I wonder who that was."

Quinn smiled and wrapped her arm around the shorter girl's back. "Someone really amazing."

* * *

**A/N: **Sort of a fluffy-er chapter. (:


	8. Chapter 8

_**8**_

Quinn didn't like him. She had only known Finn Hudson for approximatively seven and a half minutes, but she already didn't like him. At all. The only thing that made her have even the slightest grudging respect for him was the fact that he made Rachel's eyes sparkle a way she had never seen them sparkle before. And even then, that respect was skinnier than ninety-nine percents of the Cheerios' waist.

Finn had come over for some sort of duet project they had been working on for glee club while Rachel's dads had been out. Apparently, Rachel and him were co-captains. Quinn couldn't see how in the world he got co-captain, considering he obviously had the attention span of a toddler. And he couldn't even act like he was listening to Rachel! This made her extremely angry for some reason. She tried to tell herself it was just because Rachel had great ideas - which she did - but she had a feeling there was something else to it. And _God_, he got this stupid dopey look on his face that made Quinn just want to slap the tall boy.

Quinn knew it was not the best of ideas to watch them rehearse any longer, considering how annoyed Finn had made her in such a short period of time, but she felt like it would be rude to walk away from Rachel's singing. How come she had never heard Rachel sing before? She should've figured Rachel was a singing goddess with all her musical posters and stuff.

The blonde watched the two of them, twirling around and around as they sang some love song of some sort, smiling each time Finn messed up - which was quite often luckily.

Suddenly, Rachel abruptly stopped singing, startling both the dopey boy and Quinn. "No, no!" She exclaimed. "You're doing this all wrong! I'm supposed to be dying in your arms, you're supposed to be heartbroken! You sound like you have the hiccups."

Quinn stifled hysterical laughter.

Finn glared at her. "I wish you would stop criticizing me! You treat like I'm a retard or something!"

"Finn Hudson." Rachel hissed, glaring like Quinn had only seen one other unnameable person glare before. "Words like that will not be tolerated in this house."

_Go Rachel, _Quinn silently cheered.

Finn threw his hands up. "Why do you have to take everything so personally, huh? Why do you care if I say retard? It doesn't effect you!"

"When did you become so _cruel _and _heartless_?" Rachel snapped, her cheeks flushed.

A low sound rippled out of the boy's throat and suddenly Quinn was wisped away into the days with Will Schuester.

_Quinn put as much distance as she could between her and her sexual offender. Will had been drinking again, a lot, and this time was one of the worst she'd seen. They had been vacating in a cheep, run-down motel in the middle of nowhere while Will was on the lookout for yet another victim. He's had Quinn with him the longest and in her time she had seen many innocent girls die. She wished one of these days it would be her. Dying would be so much better than having to endure Will._

_"T-Terri." Will stammered, stumbling closer to Quinn._

_Quinn had never met Terri, and Will had never outright said she was his ex-wife, Quinn had just assumed. She wondered if Terri was still alive and a survivor. Or if she was in a grave because of this bastard, like Quinn no doubt soon would be._

_"Please, Will, baby," Quinn pleaded as she pressed her back against the counter they had in their very, very small kitchen area. "You're drunk. J-Just go back to bed and s-sleep the alcohol off, okay pumpkin?"_

_A low growl sound came from the back of Will's throat. In two strides he was up against her, holding the shattered glass beer bottle dangerously close to her head. "Don't tell me what to do, whore." He snarled, giving the trembling girl a forceful shove and making her back combine with the very edge of the counter. _

_Quinn hissed quietly before looking back up at the tormentor. "I would never tell you what to do, babe." The sound of her voice made her want to puke. Acting like an affectionate wife/overly affectionate daughter was something Quinn had perfected over the years after she figured out that it seemed to make him calmer. That didn't mean it didn't make her sick to her stomach even time she had to do the facade. _

_Will gave her a dejected look as tears filled his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Terri baby. I-I don't mean to hurt you. I don't...I love you, Terri. I love you. Do you love me back?"_

_Quinn turned her face away from Will, silent._

_"Tell me you love me!" Will demanded with a sob._

_"I.." Quinn whispered. She knew the right thing to say, but she was exhausted with lying._

_It was too late. As her voice trailed off, the glass smashed into her head and the blonde let lose a blood curdling scream..._

"What the hell is wrong with her?" Finn demanded in a panicked tone as he leaned over the screaming, shaking girl.

"Don't get so close to her, Finn! Give her some room! Ugh, _move_!" Rachel shoved the boy aside and crouched down next to the girl.

Finn sighed, exasperated. "You didn't answer my question. What's going on with her? She was absolutely fine and then all of the sudden she fell and started having a freaking spaz attack!"

"Do not," The brunette warned, "call Quinn a spaz. You have no idea what she's had to go through so just stop!"

"I'm trying to help you, Rachel! Stop trying to make me into this big bad guy!" Finn pouted, resembling a toddler again at the worse past time. Oh, how she wished he would mature when needed instead of becoming more immature.

"You need to leave, Finn. You're making me upset and it's the last thing I need. What I need is to focus on Quinn, she's the important thing here. Not you." With that, Rachel trained her attention back on Quinn, brushing her hair aside. She was aware that Finn was still with them, but she would just have to ignore him. "Quinn, hunnie, come on..." She whispered.

The girl whimpered.

"Quinn." Rachel sobbed, placing her head across the girl's, both laying on the hardwood floor. She reached out and stroked the girl's hair. "Please, snap out of it. For me?" She begged, hoping, praying the girl was able to hear her in what ever dark place she was in.

Suddenly an idea sparked in Rachel's desperate brain, one she was more than a little embarrassed to perform in front of Finn Hudson. "Finn?" Rachel whispered.

"Yes, Rachel." The boy breathed a response, sounding tired.

"Could you please excuse us? I have an idea, but..." The girl blushed and hoped Finn would just obey her without question.

"Yeah, sure, Rach." The boy replied, placing a hand on the co-captain's shoulder. "I'll be right outside the door, okay?"

Rachel nodded, her eyes never leaving Quinn's shaking form. Rachel didn't depend on Finn to stay like a loyal friend would, actually hoped he wouldn't. She didn't have the energy to deal with her school life and the bullying she endured that everyone ignored. She listened for the close of her bedroom door before leaning in towards the blonde. Oh, how she hoped this didn't make everything worse... "Quinn." Rachel whispered, before placing her lips softly on Quinn's cheek.

* * *

**A/N: ...AAAAAANNNNND it begins! **Short chapter but a cliff hanger end. (Sort of? Haha.) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Any predictions on what happens next? Oh, what do you think of Finn? Next chapter will be a little more intense.

xoxoxo.


	9. Chapter 9

**9**

_Suddenly the scene melted away, which was good in a way for the second Quinn, the one that always seemed to be watching in the background when she got these flashbacks that her mind had blocked out. She remembered what happened next, though it all happened in a blur. Will had been silent before scooping her up in his arms, showering her with kisses and apologies while rushing the groaning girl to the car to get to the E.R. She's had to have a bunch of scans and tests, along with stitches. The hospital even brought a detective in. Quinn had wanted to tell the truth so badly! But she didn't. She lied and stayed with Will. A month later she was with the Berry's after the cops showed up. She had known they would be coming, prayed they would, and ran away when they did. Eventually they found her and brought her to the adoption agency, where she would soon meet Hiriam and Leroy. _

_The girl glanced around, wondering what would happen now. That dreadful blackness that normally happened perhaps? But wouldn't it had already happened by now? More questions floated but before she could think them her thoughts were but off by an explosion of colors. Warm sensation on...her cheek, was it? Then, she was jerked back to reality and she could feel it. Lips. Soft, full lips caressing her cheek. The smell of Rachel's strawberry shampoo drifted in the air, seeming close to her, then..._

"Quinn," Rachel must have felt Quinn coming back to it. Quinn could hear the smile and relief in the girl's voice. "You're back. Can you open your eyes?"

Quinn turned her head and cuddled against what she assumed was Rachel's arm. It was warm - very, very warm. "That depends..." Quinn replied carefully, her tone a whisper. The bold words were out of her mouth before her brain could even process them. "Do I get another kiss if I do?"

"If you're lucky." Rachel grinned and stoked the girl's hair. She cleared her throat softly. "I don't mean to be a mood killer, Quinn, but I think it's time you told me a little bit more about what happen specifically when you were with Will. Like in the flashbacks you get." Rachel could feel Quinn stiffen beneath her. "Are you okay?" Rachel asked after a few beats of silence.

Quinn sighed shakily. "I guess it was inevitable." She opened her eyes and propped herself up so she could look Rachel in. "Come on. Let's go to your bedroom." Quinn tried to ignore how suggestive her words sounded and failed miserably. She cursed her hormones. She grabbed Rachel's hand and lead her to the girl's bedroom.

•••

"That's horrible!" Rachel gasped, tilting her head up to get a look at the blonde's facial expression. The two were lying on Rachel's bed, Quinn leaning against her headboard staring straight ahead and Rachel lying on Quinn's chest. She had been counting every breath she felt. Some part of her was afraid Quinn would disappear.

Quinn's face was blank, giving away no hints as to what she might reveal next. "I know. He was cruel, Rachel. I can't express that to you enough. _Will Schuester is and always will be a cruel man._" There was so much anger and venom in her voice that Rachel barely recognized it as Quinn's.

Rachel nodded. "I understand. Well, I don't. I will never fully understand. I've never, ever, had to go through anything remotely close to what you've had to go through. But I want to kill Will, Quinn. If I ever see him..." The brunette groaned and clenched fistfuls of the girl's shirt.

"I hope you'll never have to understand it from my point of view. I hope you never have to go through anything close at all. You don't deserve it, Rachel."

Rachel glanced up again, her big chocolate eyes filled with concern. "And do you think you deserved it, Quinn?" Oh, God, how Rachel hoped the answer was no. But her six sense was telling her something different, and knowing that absolutely shattered the young girl's heart.

"I was a very ignorant, ungrateful little rich girl, Rachel. I needed a good dose of reality." Quinn said sadly. The thing that broke Rachel's heart the most was the fact that Quinn honestly sounded like she meant it. She really believed she deserved it.

"That doesn't mean you deserved what that-that..._perv _did to you!" Rachel exploded, immediately sitting up and re-arranging herself so she was looking at Quinn straight in the eyes. "Quinn, you did not deserve it. At all. Do you understand me, Quinn?"

Quinn stared back at Rachel intensely. She held her gaze, showing no emotion as she leaned in and hugged the girl back to her chest. "I know a lot of these thing sound absurd for me to think. But it's the truth. I'm trying to be honest with you, Rachel. I hear what you're saying. What they all have told me. That I didn't deserve it. But..." Her voice trailed off and she could feel tears starting to come up. "I just feel...I feel...helpless. Weak. And I hate it. I hate having a screaming breakdown every time someone says or does something that reminds me of him. I just want to move on! But I can't."

Rachel was silent before finally responding with, "I'll help you as much as I can, it might not be much, but..."

"No," Quinn cut her off. "You're doing an amazing job of helping me. It's just a long progress. How about we take a little break?" Quinn offered. The idea sounded extremely appealing. A few minutes to just gather herself up and think, something she truly needed to do without Rachel's sympathetic eyes watching her every move.

Rachel sighed. "I think that would be the best. I need some time to digest every thing you just shared with me. But...Do you promise that we'll start talking after the break, Quinn? I'm sorry, I don't mean to be pushy. I just feel like it's good that you're finally sharing some of this with someone."

Quinn nodded. "It does feel good." She replied honestly as she twirled a piece of Rachel's brunette curly locks around her finger. She never noticed how soft her hair was before today. "Alright, move it!" Quinn ordered, giving Rachel a joking smile and then a wink.

"You sound more like Sue Sylvester's pet every day." Rachel groaned and then frowned at how true it was. She really was sounding like a mini-Sue. Was that who she would've been if Will had never kidnapped her? Would Rachel and Quinn even be friends in that life?

"That's something we need to talk about, too." Quinn added as she got up and stretched.

"Talk about what?" Rachel asked dumbly. She hated how her tone had resembled that of Finn Hudson's in that question. She cringed.

"The think with you and the Cheerios. If I'm going to be one hundred percent honest with you and lay every single one of my secrets out, I think it's only fair you at least lay out some of them."

Rachel nodded her head, knowing she would have to tell Quinn everything. It was the fair thing to do now.

After the agreed upon ten minute break was over, Rachel made her way up the stairs. When she got to her bedroom she found that the blonde was already there, sitting cross legged and looking expectant with a small smile on her lips. Rachel couldn't help but smile at her face. "What?" Rachel wondered.

"I'm waiting." Quinn replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I keep you waiting long? I -"

Quinn shook her head, cutting off Rachel's babble. "I'm not waiting to start talking again, Rachel." Quinn whispered. She made a gesture for Rachel to sit on the bed and was happy when Rachel obliged without any recognition at the closeness. "I do believe you promised me something."

"I did?" The shorter girl questioned as she crinkled her eyebrows.

"Yes, you did." Quinn leaned in. "I told you the flashback..." She whispered, leaning in more so her lips were centimeters apart from Rachel's. Without thinking, Quinn pressed her lips to Rachel. There was an immediate explosion of fireworks behind her eyelids. _This is what a kiss is supposed to feel like, _Quinn though. She wound her hair in the brunette's curls and pulled her closely. She felt Rachel begin to kiss back, then...

"No!" Rachel roared, pushing the taller girl away from her roughly as she scrambled off her bed.

Quinn sat shocked for a second as she tried to process all that had just happen. "I..oh, my God." She swallowed. "Rachel..."

"This isn't right, Quinn. My dads adopted you. You're my sister." Rachel whispered as she paced her room up and down.

"Do you really think of me that way?" Quinn questioned, squinting her eyes at the girl. "Come on, Rachel! Don't even try to pull that now. There's something between us and has been since day one! You know it, I know, even your dads know it! The papers say we're supposed to be sisters. Our hearts say something more."

"How are you so fine with all this?" Rachel snapped.

"Rachel..." Quinn sighed. "Please. I don't want to fight with you."

"I can't do this." Rachel shook her head. "I just can't. It isn't right. That being said, tomorrow night I am going on a date with Finn and you and I will forget this will ever happen. And that's that."

"Finn?" Quinn exclaimed in disbelief. "Fine, you want to ignore this thing between us and run scared, fine! But with Finn Hudson? Rachel, you can do so much better than that dope and you know it."

"I happened to feel very passionate about Finn." Rachel defended, glaring at the girl.

Quinn nodded. "Fine. Whatever, Rachel. I'll see you later." Quinn shoved past the girl and into her own room.

_Don't let her get to you._ Rachel chanted in her mind. _She'll realize I'm right sooner or later._


	10. Chapter 10

**10**

The next day was filled with an overly chipper Rachel, a pouting Quinn, and a confused Hiriam and Leroy. Rachel was a ball of sunshine, and although her attitude was pleasant it still worried her dads, but they decided not to push it. Quinn had been glowering all day long. By the time lunch rolled around, the two decided to corner their newest resident while Rachel was off running.

"That time of month?" Hiriam guessed sympathetically as he sat down next to the blonde on their loveseat.

Quinn's face flushed a million different shades of red at Hiriam's bluntness. She managed to stutter out a surprised, "N-No, Hiriam. Rachel and I are just sort of...up and down, I guess you could say."

"Already?" sighed Hiriam with a frown. "But you two were on such good terms the other day!"

Quinn's frown matched Hiriam's as her eyes became filled with emotions. "Yes, already. Although this time it was my own fault mostly. Well, I guess a large part of it was just Rachel's reaction to the..um, what happened, but I mean if I hadn't been so _idiotic, _we would still be friendly. But stupid Quinn just had to mess up everything just like Stupid Quinn always does. And you wanna know why she always does that, Hiriam? Because she's stupid."

"I lost track of how many times you said stupid in that little speech." Hiriam muttered absently.

Leroy shook his head at his husband adoringly. Then he turned his gaze sharply on the girl on the loveseat, who was watching some sort of trash MTV 'reality' show. "Ugh, Quinn, you can't possibly enjoy this stuff." The man groaned as he took a bite of his leftovers from dinner the night before.

The blonde nodded her head, never tearing her gaze away from the television. "It's entertaining and distracting, which is exactly the kind of thing I need today."

Leroy chuckled, amused. "And might I ask what happened between you and our daughter?"

Quinn's eyes shrunk and she shifted uncomfortably. "Yes." She answered in a small voice.

"So...What happened?" Hiriam pressed after some noticeable silence.

Quinn shrugged in response and twirled some of her noodles on her fork sadly.

"That's it?" Hiriam blanched, "All you're going to do is sit there, shrug, and pout but not tell us what is so deeply bothering you about whatever happened between you and Rachel...again?"

She nodded.

"But you said you would tell us!" Hiriam wined, obviously too eager for some good girl gossip. His behavior earned another chuckle from his husband in the recliner.

"No," Quinn answered carefully as she took a bite of her lunch. "You asked me if you could ask, and I said yes you could ask. I never once said I would answer. I only said that you may ask."

"Oh, Quinn." Leroy sighed. "You're worse to get information out of than Rachel is, and that really says a lot. She's a very private person most of the time, you know."

"Can we just not talk about Rachel?" The blonde snapped as she turned her head to finally meet her two adopted dads in the eye. She realized how harsh she sounded and immediately regretted it. "I'm sorry," Quinn whispered. "I didn't mean to take it out on you two. I'm just very...stressed about the thing that happened with Rachel."

"Maybe talking about what happened will help, sweetheart." Leroy offered gently.

"No," Quinn sighed after she took a second to think about the tempting offer. "The thing is...even though I don't personally believe Rachel's opinion on what happened, she may be right. The fact of the matter is that she knows the two of you way better than I do and can gage your views on stuff like this way better than I can. So if she is right, you two might not...appreciate what happened, even though it seems ridiculous in hind sight that you would be against what happened."

"So should we, as parents, be concerned about what happened?" Hiriam asked the girl.

"No. Maybe? Ugh, I honestly don't know. I think the normal set of parents definitely would be moderately concerned, but you two obviously aren't the normal parents. You're way cooler than the normal set of parents, in my opinion."Quinn grinned at the two of them.

Leroy opened his mouth to respond but was caught off by a distraught Quinn whispering, "He's here." at the sound of a car door slamming.

They raised their eyebrows at the blonde.

"Finn," Quinn explained with disapproval. "You know, the dumb kid from glee club that's, for what ever reason, apparently on Rachel's radar?"

Hiriam blinked, suprised by the girl's bitter statement. "Is he here for the glee project?"

"No." Quinn muttered as she glared at the front door. "He's here for his _date _with Rachel."

Leroy didn't know if it bothered him and his husband or Quinn more that Rachel had a date with Finn Hudson. "Um, is that why you and Rachel are in a disagreement right now? Because of her...date?"

Quinn rolled her eyes and got up from the loveseat. "I'll be in my room, gagging, if you need me. I'll be back after The Idiot has left."

Hiriam dubbled over with silent laughter as Quinn sauntered off to her room. "So, uh, would you like to deal with Quinn or shall I, honey?"

Leroy frowned while he thought, looking at the door which Finn had already knocked on. "I'll handle Finn," Leroy answered hesitantly. "You can handle Quinn."

Hiriam nodded in agreement as he made his way to Quinn's bedroom. Though he supposed it was a better idea for him to handle Quinn, he was dismayed that he would have to miss the entertainment that was his husband questioning Finn, or in Quinn's words, The Idiot.

Chuckling at the memory, he rapped on the girl's door softly. "Quinn? I hope you're decent because I'm coming in."

Before he could turn the doorknob, the door swung open to reveal a very distraught looking Quinn. "Please, leave me alone." Quinn whimpered as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"What happened, Quinn?" The man asked, concerned. He gently nudged his way into the girl's bedroom and closed the door behind him. "What happened with Rachel, Quinn?"

The taller girl shook her head wildly while more tears came. "I already said I couldn't tell you, and I meant it!" sobbed the girl as she sat down on her bed. "I'm so scared...You'll think of me differently. You say you won't, but you will! You will! I know you will! I would too! He was right about me...Oh, God, he was right about me! No! I-I d-don't want to go-o-o to h-h-h...hell!"

Hiriam was perplexed at the harsh turn this conversation had taken. The father made his way urgently over to the blonde, wrapping his arms around the shaking girl. "What on earth makes you think you'll go to hell, Quinn?" He murmured into her hair.

"W-Will said...The bible says...There's nothing I can do about it! I c-c-can't change it! W-Why me? I-I need to go. I need to go!" She screamed as she wrestled to get out of Hiriam's strong grip. "Let me go, Hiriam! Let me go! He's here! I can feel him here! I h-have to go to him! You don't know what he can do!"

"Quinn, you're safe!" Hiriam reassured the girl over her violent sobs.

"No, I'm not." Quinn whispered as her eyes widened. "I never was. They never caught him, and now he's here! He found me!"

"Daddy, what on earth is going on in there?" Rachel's voice came from behind the door.

The sound of Rachel's voice came from out of nowhere, and it stirred up so many emotions in the girl. Relief, happiness, anger...It was all too overwhelming. And suddenly, everything went black.

* * *

**A/N : W**ell, that was intense! I blame the intenseness that is the latest Harry Potter movie that I saw yesterday, for it put me in the mood to apparently write something very intense. *Sigh* It seems like poor Quinn is having huge breakdowns every other chapter, now isn't she? I probably shouldn't torture her as much, but alas, I can't help myself. The writing works itself, I am only a messenger, if you will.

**_I'm not exactly sure how many chapters of this story will be left, to be honest. I really did not plan it out at all, as you can probably tell by the extreme randomness. _**

**Haven't done shoutouts in a while, so here we go! (Sorry if you arent included, it is not intentional!) :**

**Thanks to BlondieTwilightFreak, isthisreallife, lollipopsandwich, lavitaebella16, CrazyCavia, skyehi714, Feychild28, Saint89, m-cooper, ConspicousGirl, XXXII, sdmwd1115, scratchx, , babyblue2213, venlass, nluvwithemmettcullen, bmsunrise, thatissodawn, ElizaOlivia, October Is Over, Alice N.P.M, keavy18, randrum, readnowrite, Meltjuh27, warpedsolutions, Holograph, .like., FaberryOTP, .Sydelko., master shake84, Stargatefan001, millumino, you're looking sexy, dudewearelost, Haruka-Chan 212, Alibooboo, lollilops, flip88, Lauraluvscasey, Chewinggum20, DEPRCREW, Feyore, neneski, Full-of-Ink, GGONZ, alitteloveconfused, Babol, Jamie. T Harloawn, laintmr, Kayte-Anne, sarcasticmeow, mallory2930, bluestarrr, Janeyyy49, iamnev, Faeolin, lavenderspillofstars, Ellegirl111, Wikule93, FaberryArcheleFan16, estherhong, brightlights27, MonkeyGirl1730, throught-fire-and-flames, Bella Brandon, whateverisleft, LadyL.L for Favorite-ing / Story Alerting /Author Alerting!**

_Review Replies (for last chapter only!) :_

**minako366: ...I don't have witty reply for that except for this: Muwahaha *mysterious grin***

**AlexanderChase: IKR? I'm relieved they finally kissed, too! But now the question is: Will they pursue**** a relationship? **

**Lauraluvscasey: Oh, yes, she will realize very soon.**

**WinterAquair: And I thank you! And I freaking thank you! (:**

**sneakygays: OMG, please tell me her reaction seemed like...really out of the blue? It didn't, did it? Or it did. I'm thinking it did if you're surprised at it. -nodnod-  
**

**ANY IDEAS ON WHAT HAPPENS NEXT/CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM? **


	11. Chapter 11

Welcome to the second arch of this story. :)

_**11**_

Rachel paced around the emergency room impatiently. Her mind was absolutely buzzing and it would not shut up. Too many thoughts occupied her mind, all of them containing the blonde that they were here for.

What happened?

Will she be okay?

What was she saying, about Will coming back?

The shorter girl's hands trembled and she squeezed her eyes shut tight. God, how she prayed Will wouldn't be coming anywhere near them – for both of their sakes. Quinn's for obvious reasons and her's because she didn't know if she could handle Quinn relying on her all that much for protection. It was a selfish thought, this she knew, but it was true. Rachel was terrified of this man too.

Mostly, if Will came back, she feared for Quinn's safety. She couldn't bear the thought of someone hurting her – especially Will. She'd be physically sick if Will ran his grubby, gross hands all over her Quinn.

Whoa, her Quinn? Ugh, this was getting way too complicated for the diva to handle. She wished she could find a piano somewhere and sing about the overwhelming emotions she was feeling, but some un-nameable force was keeping her rooted to her place. She couldn't leave, even for the best of reasons. She just couldn't.

She had to be here when Quinn woke up.

Suddenly, the singer spotted her two dads making their way towards her and she bolted towards them. The pair could barely come to a complete stop before their daughter was spouting out questions.

"Daddy, is she okay? Well, of course she's not okay, but did she hurt herself when she fell? She must've hurt herself if she's not awake yet. What if she hurt her head so bad that she'll never wake up? Oh my god, what if she dies, Dad? I couldn't live with myself if she died, the fact that I reje- I just couldn't live with myself. Is she okay?"

Hiriam smiled at his daughter reassuringly, both men missing their daughter's accidental slip up. "Sh, baby girl, Quinn will be just fine. She's due to wake up any second now, so don't fret. And also, we found out some interesting news. Have a seat, Rachel."

Rachel's heart thudded, her mind instantly going back to the kiss her and Quinn shared. They couldn't know, could they? Were they angry? Was it considered incest if her and Quinn weren't even really related? She gulped. "Yes, Daddy, Dad?"

"They tracked down Quinn's biological parents."

* * *

Quinn's head throbbed. Ugh, why did it hurt so much? She attempted opening her eyes for a brief nano-second, but quickly decided against that - the lights were way too bright and her head already hurt enough. So she decided to use her other senses to make sense of her surroundings.

The air had a too-clean smell to it. It definitely wasn't the Berry residence. Her bed was soft and comfy, but her blankets were thinner than what she was used to in her own bed (and in Rachel's). Rachel. Suddenly, she noticed how electric the air was and knew that the other girl had to be in here with her. She mellowed down her brain's chanting of 'my head hurts, my head hurts, my head hurts' enough so she could try to listen to see if she could hear Rachel. And sure enough, she heard a powerful, angelic singing voice close by.

_Don't worry about a thing._  
_'Cause every little thing,_  
_is gonna be alright..._

Quinn felt a smile spread across her face.

"Quinn," the other girl said suddenly, her voice overjoyed. "you're alive!"

The tall girl heard a raspy, dead-like voice scoff and reply. "Well, of course I'm alive, Rach. I've survived sexual predators, beatings, and much more. I think I can survive a meltdown out of jealousy."

_Huh,_ Quinn thought, _that's weird_. The monster voice said exactly what I was just thinking. Then she realized that the "monster voice" was her voice and her cheeks flamed of embarrassment. "I don't sound very alive, do I, Rach?" she mumbled with a chuckle.

The other girl giggled. "I suppose not. But I don't care how you sound, I'm just so happy you're okay!" Rachel paused and re-thought what she had just said. "You are okay, Quinn, aren't you?"

Quinn shook her head and felt her smile widen. "Yes, Rachel, I'm fine. My head hurts a little, though. It would help if you didn't talk so fast."

Rachel blushed and smiled shyly, looking down and hiding her face in her hair. Quinn felt her breathing speed up as she watched the other girl's absolutely adorable actions and she gave a soft smile. She felt like she should say something, knew she should say something to the diva next to her, but she couldn't form any words. She was in pure awe of the girl.

"Quinn, I actually have some news for you." Rachel suddenly burted.

"News?" Quinn questioned, eyeing the short girl and raising her eyebrow. She felt panic sworm in her chest as her mind thought of two very peeved Berry's and the kiss that the two girls had shared recently. She knew she shouldn't feel as guilty as she did about the kiss as she did, but she did. Quinn felt sickeningly guilty.

She had deep feelings for Rachel Berry. She was going to hell.

"Yes, Quinn. Uh, on second thought, maybe I shouldn't be the one to tell you this. But what if you take it bad and have another anxiety attack, who could calm you down? I suppose the nurses could always give you something to calm down but - "

"Rachel!" Quinn exclaimed, feeling exasperated, "please, just tell me already. Please? Whatever it is, you're the only one I want to tell me. I want to hear it from you, Rachel."

Rachel nodded and blew out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Okay, Quinn. Here goes," Rachel bit her lip, a gesture that would've normally sent Quinn's stomach in flips. "."

The blonde blinked, caught completely off guard. She hadn't known what she had been expecting her to say but it was not that. Her biological parents? She hadn't really thought about them that much. She always just assumed that she would never see them again. For a long time, there was an empty hole in her heart where her parents used to be - a hole that Rachel had slowly started to fill over the time of them knowing each other.

"Say something," Rachel pleaded, grabbing the stiff girl's hand.

"I'm just so..." Quinn's voice trailed and she blinked, unable to process what the girl had revealed to her.

"Shocked?" The singer prompted.

Quinn nodded. Soon a silence had settled over the two. Again Quinn had the feeling that she should say something, anything, but she just couldn't. Unable to find words, she just tightened her grip on Rachel's hand. Rachel squeezed back.

Rachel started to lean in and Quinn tilted her head up so their lips could meet. Quinn could smell Rachel's strawberry lip gloss and sighed. Their lips were so very close... She could practically almost feel the kiss happening... Almost there... Then...

"Oh, good! You're up!"

Rachel scrambled away so fast the Cheerio was blinded by temporary whiplash.

"Oops, sorry for the startle there, sweet pea!" the nurse apologized to them with a warm smile. "It's time for your meds, Ms. Berry."

Quinn whimpered and stared at the brunette longingly. Her eyes traveled to the short, red-headed nurse in the room with them. "Can't it wait just a little while? I'm not tired. I feel fine." Quinn smiled at her to emphasize her point.

"'Fraid I can't do that, hun. On a strict schedule with you, I am. I haven't seen such a bad case of anxiety since I've become a nurse! You poor thing."

She frowned and allowed the nurse to do what she had to do. Sure enough, the blonde quicly began to feel drowsy.

The nurse nodded at Rachel. "You best be gettin' back out with your dads and let Quinn sleep."

Instantly, Quinn's eyes snapped open and she shook her head wildly. "Please, can't she stay? I swear, I'll get sleep with her in here. In fact, I'll probably get more sleep with her in here than I would without her in here. She kinda keeps the nightmares away..."

_I can't believe I just told that to the nurse, _Quinn mentally groaned at her own stupidity.

Thankfully, the nurse just smiled at Quinn. "Well, if that's the case, then I don't see a problem with it. I should probably run it by your doctor, just in case..." the nurse left the room, leaving the two girls alone once again.

"Rachel," Quinn finally whispered, "are you mad at me?"

"Mad?" Rachel blinked, confused. "Why on earth would I be mad at you, Quinn?"

"I ruined your date with Finn," the blonde whimpered miserably, "my stupid anxiety ruined it before you could even go out on the stupid date! A-And I kissed you. Oh, my god, _I kissed you. _Y-you must hate me. You do hate me."

"Whoa, whoa, Quinn. Slow down there a second! First of all, I don't hate you. Second of all, your anxiety is not stupid, it's very serious. Third of all, I never really wanted to go out with Finn anyway. I only agreed to go out with him out of anger and confusion."

"Anger?" the Cheerio pressed.

"Not anger with you," Rachel quickly reassured her. "No, anger at...myself, mostly. For being so different." Rachel sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

Quinn stared up at the ceiling in silence for a few moments. Her mind was so jumbled up. "I'm so sorry for all the stress, Rachel. All my anxiety attacks. But I'm done feeling sorry for myself. I have to accept that all this happened to me. And I need to get on with my life. I need to figure out who I am, not who Will made me."

Rachel nodded sadly. "Okay, Quinn." the girl shuffled in her seat. "You should get some rest."

Quinn nodded her head in silent agreement and cuddled into her pillow. "I might even want to meet my biological parents," she yawned.

The brunette diva failed to ignore the sinking feeling of her heart at the thought of Quinn leaving to move in with her biological parents.


	12. Chapter 12

**_12_**

The next week passed in a blur of faces for Quinn: doctors, counselors, pharmacists, physiologists, Rachel, nurses, Rachel, Rachel, Rachel…

There was so much new information Quinn felt like she might burst. If it hadn't been for Rachel – who had listened to Quinn many different times as she ranted – she might have gone insane. Or, rather, more insane than she already was…

Over the course of the week, she had seen three different counselors, gotten put on many different types of medicines, and cries countless times. And then there was also the matter of her biological parents. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't overflowing with curiosity. Who were these people whom she once called Mom and Dad? She had the opportunity to find out, but there was something holding her back…

Someone named Rachel.

Quinn couldn't explain it, but she felt like if she did go and meet her 'real' parents that it would be making some ultimate betrayal to the people who had taken her in and loved her as if she were their own the past few months. She knew this wasn't exactly fair to herself to think that or to Leroy and Hiriam. In fact, her adopted fathers highly encouraged her to go meet them. But she knew Rachel didn't agree.

Though Rachel denied it every time Quinn had confronted her about it, the blonde Cheerio knew she disagreed about her going to meet them. Once, when Rachel kinda-sort-of-not-really admitted to it, she also said she didn't want to see Quinn get hurt.

But how could they hurt her?

When Quinn had voiced this question allowed to the diva, it looked like she had had something to say in reply but she had kept her lips shut tight and abruptly changed the subject. Quinn wasn't going to lie; it was frustrating with her sometimes.

But still, Quinn couldn't deny that she had a sort of… adoration (if you will) with the other girl. If adoration is the correct word for wanting to kiss her multiple times, anyway. Ah, screw it! Quinn knew that there was a better word to describe her, uh… _sexual urges _with the diva but she just couldn't admit to herself. There was a part of her that was still in denial that the kiss even happened in the first place and there was another part of her (the Will part of her) that was mentally chanting 'wrong, wrong, wrong! You are going to hell, Quinn!' even though she knew whole-heartedly that that wasn't true.

It wasn't a sin to love someone, was it? Not that she loved Rachel, that is! She just – really, _really _appreciated her friendship! And other things, too…

Shaking her head to rid her mind of her horny teenage boy like thoughts, she cleared her mind and went on a search to find girl in question.

She eventually found Rachel in her room, sitting cross legged on her bed and reading a magazine. Quinn quietly entered the room and sat down next to her on the bed. "_You_ read magazines, Rachel Berry?"

Rachel scoffed, apparently offended by the question. "Well, of course I do, Quinn! It's good to read so I have a taste of what jealous, B-list journalists' will be writing about me when I'm a star in New York. And well, it is fairly entertaining…"

The Cheerio snorted. "Yeah, okay, sure," she replied with sarcasm as she gently pried the magazine out of her hands, "why don't you put that… interesting brand of entertainment down and watch a movie with me?"

Rachel gaped at her.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" the blonde's hand flew up to her face, rubbing furiously at her dry skin.

The brunette giggled, putting her hands over the blonde's and lowering them from her face. "No, it's not that. It's just… sometimes you remind me of a little Sue Sylvester."

"Should I be offended by that?"

"No, no, not in the way you think," Rachel quickly reassured her, "more in the… you're very… not quite intimidating – influential? No, no… You possess a certain quality that makes it very difficult to say no to you."

Quinn smirked and leaned back against Rachel's pillows. "I'll remember that next time I need something out of you, Rach."

Rachel shook her head and smiled. "Only you wouldn't purposely use that on me."

"Oh, I wouldn't?" Quinn raised an eyebrow at her.

"No, you won't." The diva replied confidently.

"And what makes you think that, Rachel Berry?" Quinn pressed, pronouncing every syllable of the other girl's name slowly, as if to torture her.

The singer seemed at a momentary lost for words. Finally, she breathed out, "Because you're Quinn. You wouldn't manipulate me like Finn or Santana or any of the glee clubbers would."

Before Quinn could even think of a reply, a pair of warm, full lips was pressed against hers. Letting out a small gasp of surprise, Quinn moved closer into the other girl. She could feel every edge of the other girl's toned body and groaned. She needed to be closer…

As if reading her mind, Rachel suddenly was on top of her and deepening their kiss. Her small, soft hands were messing up her hair and getting tangled in her mess of blonde curls. But Quinn couldn't even let out a grunt of complain, even though it did hurt quite a bit – how could a girl so_ tiny_ possess so much strength? – Because her hands felt right there. Like they were made to be there.

"Rachel," she moaned.

"Shhhh," Rachel replied immediately, "don't speak. Don't ruin it."

Quinn nodded and shut her mouth. Suddenly, she couldn't take it anymore. She had had Rachel have her turn, now it was hers. She spun her around and laid on top of her in a one graceful movement, leaving the smaller girl temporarily breathless. Quinn smirked and slowly pressed her lips back to Rachel's.

Oh, God, they were so_ soft_… And they had a slight taste of vanilla on them. Quinn guessed it must be Rachel's lip gloss.

Feeling that urge for closeness again, Quinn pulled her left knee out and dipped it in the mattress to the left of Rachel, bringing their bodies dizzyingly close. The blonde felt Rachel gasp beneath her and smirked once more.

Soon, Quinn's hands were running all across the diva's chest – something she never would have let fly with Finn or Jesse. But with them, it felt clumsy and awkward and not at all like Quinn's soft caresses. While the boys' had been full of greedy demands, Quinn's held only a gentle request and nothing more. So Rachel let it continue.

And it felt _great._

Suddenly, Quinn pulled away and planted soft kisses along her cheek. Her words came out muffled between the kisses. "Did – you – still – want – to – watch – that – movie?"

"Are you kidding me?" Rachel snorted. "_Absolutely_ not! This is a way more adequate way to spend my time than watch some movie I've seen many times."

Quinn nodded eagerly in agreement before diving into her neck, sucking her skin. Rachel felt a chill go up her spine in pleasure.

The blonde's movements then began to slow. Panting she rolled over so she lay next to the girl on her side. She felt a wide grin take over her face as she began to stroke the brunette's hair away from her sweaty forehead.

"Quinn, you – you are a_ fantastic_ kisser! How I didn't notice it the first time…" Rachel muttered the last part. And it was true. How could she have not noticed before? But then, the first time the two had kisses she had been so shocked and her mind had went blank.

Now, however, it was very much on over drive.

Quinn snickered. "You aren't so bad yourself, Rach."

The singer blushed a deep strawberry red. "Thank you."

"You are… very much so welcome." Quinn whispered as she interlaced their fingers. She paused. "I think your dads are home."

Rachel groaned. "I do hope they don't walk in before I get the chance to straighten up."

The cheerleader nodded in agreement and got up to help clean up the room and smooth out her appearance. Within ten minutes, they were done and downstairs to greet Hiriam and Leroy.

"Hello, Dad, Daddy!" Rachel chirped enthusiastically.

"Well, aren't we in a good mood today?" Leroy grinned and hugged his daughter. He eyed Quinn questioningly. "Quinn, did you let her watch Funny Girl or something? If you did, Phew, I'm sorry. She probably won't leave you alone with musicals now! The good side is she'll finally leave us alone about it."

"Not that we mind, of course." Hiriam joined in as he set some groceries down on the table.

Quinn chuckled. "I think I can handle it, Leroy."

Leroy winked. "That's a girl! But seriously now, what's going on? Something obviously happened before we got here. You two are glowing…"

Thankfully, before either one of the girls could attempt to answer and embarrass themselves, Hiriam stepped in and saved them.

"Ah, let them be, Leroy. I'm sure they'll tell us if they wish – which, judging by their faces, they don't."

Leroy shrugged and decided to drop the subject. But after the girls had helped putting away the groceries and returned to their rooms, he eyed his husband with a questioning look. "You don't think…?"

"Honestly?" Hiriam replied, doing a quick look behind him to make sure both girls were definitely out of earshot. "I wouldn't be surprised. It was only a matter of time. Quinn broke my gaydar first time I met her, and we obviously know our Rachel…"

Leroy nodded. "Think we should confront them about it?"

Hiriam quickly shook his head. "Nah, let them figure it out for themselves first. Remember when we were in that stage? Oh, boy, what a sight we were…"

Leroy grinned at the memory. "Two very scared closeted young boys…"

"Yet here we are now."

"Yet here we are now…" Leroy repeated softly, placing a quick kiss on his husband's mouth before turning away to put away some dirty dishes.

Hiriam smiled softly at the sight of his husband. He was incredibly lucky to still have his husband after all this time. If anything he wished for the two girls, he wished them long, happy relationship such as theirs.

Because if anyone deserved it, it was defiantly those two.


End file.
